Kumi Asura
by Kiira Kisa
Summary: Asura Strike. It is a powerful attack that can kill in one hit. Without proper equipment or skill, one can succumb to its power. It is one of the most feared skills in all of RuneMidgard ever to be used.......by an Acolyte?
1. Asura Strike

-1_KumiAsura_

By: Kiira Kisa

File 1: Asura Strike

The cave was dark and damp, as always. Despite the greenish gray walls that were the color of a bridge after heavily savaged by water after a number of years, there was no water. Only a thinning fog chased the borders of the cave, greeting every visitor with a chill down their spine.

The people of Payon gathered here to train and hone their skills. Those brave enough ventured beyond the first twists and turns of the cave, and into deeper areas with even deadlier monsters to kill. Swordsman; Acolytes; Archers; Thieves; Merchants; Novices, and Mages gathered here to prove themselves. It was an ideal place for the weaker to make themselves stronger. Assassins; Hunters; Dancers; Knights, just to mention a few, only laughed at the sluggish purple zombies that straggled towards them. With a single swift movement or arrowshot, the zombies were dead. The bats that annoyingly chased after them were simply ignored, or taken out with a simple flick of the wrist. But this was not only a place for the weak to train. It was also a place to prove yourself at least somewhat worthy before venturing out into more menacing areas. For the proud Acolytes that belonged to the Prontera church in the ever-populated Prontera city, it was the final test to prove themselves worthy of becoming Priests.

Father Damon stood behind a long line of ready Acolytes. Their dull yellow outfits casted shadows in the darkness of the cave. They stood with maces in hand, waiting for Father Damon's command. One frail looking Acolyte turned to him and said,

"What if the zombies are too strong, Father?"

Father Damon smiled and patted the boy's head reassuringly.

"Don't worry my child. The Lord will protect those that he sees worthy of carrying out His word. And if anything goes wrong, I will protect all of you."

The Acolytes in front of him seemed to release their tension from his words. They breathed a sigh of relief. His words reached all of them, except for one. A single Acolyte sat on the ground, dazed and bored. Her hair was a dark brown and touched the tips of her shoulders. It seemed to be cut unevenly, as stray pieces of her hair randomly dangled just a little past her shoulders, and her long bangs only fell short as two longer parts of her hair went past the front of her ears. She had deep blue eyes whose pupils were oddly shaped, like ripples in an angry ocean. The blue in her eyes expressed a deep yearning for something…..something that could not be found in this cave.

"Kumi!" Father Damon yelled, after seeing her nearly fall asleep on the ground.

"What..?" She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. Her yawn made Father Damon even more furious.

"Kumi Runeshire," he began, his voice was low as he strained to keep it from rising. "Your family, the Runeshires, descend from a long line of famous Priests and Priestesses. It is your duty to carry on that heritage. It would make your parents very proud."

Kumi stood and looked Father Damon in the eye.

"All my parents care about is their reputation. They never give a damn about what _I _want to do with my life."

"What DO you want to do?" His teeth cringed now.

Kumi did not answer. She slid her mace out of the loop on her belt and swung it around playfully. Father Damon sighed.

"You use that thing so carelessly. In our teachings, that sort of weapon is only for self-defense and should only be used as a last resort."

"Doesn't matter." She let her arm go limp and the end of the mace slammed against the ground. "A Priest can kill just as much as an Assassin, just with the word 'God' at the end of it"

Father Damon had had it.

"How DARE you…"

"Father! Father! It's starting!" The voice of an Acolyte shouted. Father Damon stepped forward.

"Get ready to use your Holy Light, just as we practiced." He turned to Kumi. "I will deal with you later. Get out there."

Kumi sighed and got her mace ready. An Acolyte with neatly cut silver hair that went halfway down her back ran next to her.

"What did you do now, Kumi?" she asked, worried.

"It's not a big deal. I really don't care what happens right now, Ikari." Kumi yawned. "There's nothing I want less than to be a Priestess."

Ikari blinked. "Well, maybe once you turn into a Priestess, you can run away from home! And I can come with you!"

Kumi ignored her daft suggestion and turned her attention to the horizon. Zombies gathered before them, trudging slowly towards the young Acolyte.

"Holy Light!" Acolytes ran forward with their hands in front of them. Flashes of light appeared in the forms of crosses. The lights struck the zombies down until they moved no more. They were taken out easily.

Kumi struggled to use the Holy Light. The light was dim in her hands, and it took more than one Holy Light to kill a Zombie. She often ended up using her mace to make a faster kill. Father Damon frowned upon this. Ikari joined her side.

"Let's double team. It'll be easier that way!" Ikari rose her hands in the air. "Blessing!" Lights circled Kumi in the form of two small angels. She felt her strength and speed rise. She formed Holy Light in her hands again, this time it was far stronger than before.

Soon, the zombies stopped coming all together. The Acolytes cheered.

"The Lord has accepted all of you!" Father Damon praised. "I'm proud of you."

"Father! What is that?" A distant Acolyte's voice called back, alarmed. Father Damon looked in the distance and saw a dark shadow loom overhead. He creeped closer and saw it in its horrid form. A tall floating figure surrounded by black and purple flame. It was covered in bone armor, its shoulders and forehead resembled skulls. Darkness seemed to surge through its body and veins as it casted a dark circle at its feet while it moved. A menacing laugh emerged from its mouth, and the people in Payon cave scrambled.

"Dark Illusion? That isn't supposed to be here…" '_Some fool must've used a Dead Branch to summon it.' _He thought.

Father Damon stepped back, his loyal Acolytes watching his every move, completely oblivious. He quickly turned to them, then scanned his surroundings. The Dark Illusion was blocking the exit out of the cave. The only other way out was the deeper levels of the cave. Both options were deadly and more than he or the other Acolytes could handle. "Everyone stay calm. I will handle this. This is too much for you all!" The Acolytes stepped back behind him. Just as Father Damon rose his Holy Bible, cold and empty pairs of red and green eyes fell upon them. A sinister smile formed on the monster's face, and in a flash, it had teleported before Father Damon's eyes.

"Meteor Storm…" A deep voice rose up from its mouth and the cave was covered in darkness. Clouds formed within the cave and everything began to tremble.

"Kumi!! I'm scared!" Ikari cried. She clinged onto Kumi, who stood undaunted.

The Dark Illusion pointed at Father Damon and an array of giant meteors began flying towards him and the Acolytes. He turned around with his hand in the air and shouted,

"Kyrie Eleison!" Shields appeared over the Acolytes and himself. "Brace yourselves!" The Acolytes ducked and covered their heads as meteors slammed into the ground in bursts of fire all around them. Kumi still stood, her hands turned into fists as she felt helpless.

"Magnum Exorcis-.." Father Damon's attack was interrupted by a strong swipe from the Dark Illusion's hand. He flew back through the mist and into a cave wall. He fell onto the ground, motionless. Screams of terror filled the cave as the Acolytes scattered and ran in fear. Ikari still clinged by Kumi's side. Kumi grabbed her mace and glared at the monster.

"We can't get outta here…UNTIL-IT'S-DEAD!!" She shoved Ikari aside and ran towards the Dark Illusion.

"Kumi!!" Ikari screamed.

Kumi swung her mace with all her strength at the Dark Illusion's leg. It shattered into millions of pieces upon impact. She jumped back and put her hands forward.

"Holy Light!" The bright light hit the Dark Illusion, but barely. It shook it off and laughed. He lifted his hand and crashed it into the ground. Kumi barely dodged it and rolled aside. She stopped and turned to Ikari.

"Go heal Father Damon! I'll hold it off!" She yelled.

"But.."

"JUST GO!!"

Ikari nodded and ran towards Father Damon. She gently put her hands on his chest and closed her eyes.

"Heal!" A bright green light surrounded his body, and slowly his wounds began to heal. She glanced back at Kumi, who was throwing Holy Lights at the Dark Illusion and barely dodging all of his blows. She put her hands in front of her one last time, and out of exhaustion, she was unable to produce a Holy Light.

"Damnit!" She yelled, breathing hard to catch her breath. "Ikari! What are you doing!?"

"I healed him but he's not waking up! My heal isn't strong enough to heal him completely!" Tears swelled in Ikari's eyes and poured down her cheeks. "I dunno what to do!" She rubbed her eyes. "I wish I was a Priestess already!"

The rest of the Acolytes were too scared and confused to even realize what Kumi and Ikari were trying to do.

"DAMNIT!" Kumi yelled and threw a pathetic punch at the Dark Illusion. To her surprise, the tips of her fist's knuckles glowed with a dim light. And at the moment of its impact, the tough bone armor covering the Dark Illusion's leg had cracked just a little. It was a small crack, but it was enough to convince Kumi that she had just done something that other Acolytes could not. But this crack also caught the Dark Illusion's attention. Angrily, he rose his arms in the air and a familiar cloud appeared overhead.

"Meteor Storm!" The cave was in another barrage of meteors. Father Damon's Kyrie Eleison hadn't worn off yet, so it protected Kumi and the others. His own shield had worn off though, and he lay helpless as a meteor came crashing down towards him. Ikari screamed and stood frozen. She covered his body with his, and the meteor clashed against her shield.

"Ikari!!" Kumi yelled. She waited for the flames and smoke to clear. She saw her friend on the ground. The meteor was destroyed by the shield but the impact itself was too much. "IKA-" Kumi was flung across the cave with one giant swipe. She slammed against the wall and lay motionless for a while. With a groan, she got to her feet.

Her vision was blurry. Everything was unclear.

_'Am I going to die?' _She wondered. _'Is this how it all ends? Am I really just as weak as everyone around me?' _

Just then, the memory of her fist glowing slightly and cracking the Dark Illusion's armor made her stop. All the self doubt had stopped, and there was some hope. Kumi looked around her. People were hurt, some dead. Some of the Acolytes had gone to Ikari and Father Damon's sides, using their underdeveloped magic to heal them. Some Acolytes were nowhere to be seen. All the Swordsman, Archers, Merchants, Thieves….they lay amidst the ruins of the carnage. Some stronger fighters had come to try to help. All the Assassins, Hunters, Dancers, Knights…they were no longer laughing. Now even they were injured and barely able to fight. It all seemed far too grim, far too hopeless for something like a "lucky punch" to finally put a stop to all of the chaos.

Suddenly, she found herself running. Running and screaming…right towards the Dark Illusion. It was busy attacking an array of Knights and Crusaders around it. One Crusader saw the small Acolyte running towards and yelled something. But it was all just a blur. She rose her fist, and with all her might…..

…..punched.

What happened after that was nothing less than a miracle. The air was still; a dark aura formed over Kumi's head. Sparks zipped along her arm, empowering her punch. Symbols appeared in the air; symbols she had never seen before. They seemed to spell out something…

Kumi did not realize it, but she had jumped. She jumped and her fist landed impact upon the Dark Illusion's chest. And with her small 16 year old hands, she had punched Dark Illusion with a punch strong enough to kill it. And it did. It flew into the ground, hollering a dreaded painful scream that people could hear for miles. Its body skidded back towards the darkest parts of the cave, where its floating flaming aura finally went out. Its red and green eyes slowly eyed Kumi, who was on top of it; her fist still firmly planted into its armor. It said nothing, and the light of its eyes finally faded.

Its body disintegrated and in a puff of smoke, it shrank down to nothingness. All that was left was a single Dead Branch; broken in two. Kumi fell and landed roughly on her feet. Before she realized what had just happened, the sounds of cheering echoed throughout the cave. A Knight whistled and clapped his hands, backfisting a random Familiar, making it crash to the ground.

"KUMI!" Ikari ran and threw her arms around her friend. She sobbed.

"IWASSOWORRIEDWHATHAPPENEDHOWDIDYOUDOTHATITHOUGHIWASGOINGTODIEOHMYGOD!!! Mrrphh mmurrppphhh!!" Her sobs became inaudible as she buried her face into Kumi's shirt.

Kumi was frozen with confusion. She looked and saw that Father Damon was on his feet now, but the expression on his face was far different from those around him. While everyone was happy with relief and celebration, he had a look of pure terror still etched deep into his eyes as he stared right at Kumi. She stared at the fist she had used to kill the Dark Illusion. It was unharmed; not a scratch was on it. Only her thin gloves had been shaved away a little, exposing her knuckles. She looked back to Father Damon, who had now started healing the injured around him. The Acolytes emerged out of hiding and followed his example. Without his guidance, they were nothing. On the ground, Father Damon's Holy Bible lay open amidst the rubble.

In the shadows, a tall figure slips away.

A few days had passed since the incident in Payon cave. Out of respect for those who had lost their lives beyond Resurrection, Father Damon had postponed the Job Changing ceremony for the Acolytes. Kumi wasn't complaining. Ikari used this time to hone her skills some more. She practiced her healing techniques on dying plants in her backyard. In just a few day's time, she was now able to heal even the driest and brownest of flowers.

The news from the small village of Payon had spread to the booming city of Prontera. The city was a-buzz from the horrible tragedy. But mostly, people were talking about Kumi. The papers read "A Monk To The Rescue? No! An Acolyte!" Merchants littered the street with their shops, selling the paper at discounted prices. People flocked to them like moths to a light.

Luckily, no one had gotten any pictures of the incident, nor had anyone interviewed Kumi about what she had done. She slipped away at just the right time to avoid all of the attention. She was hoping that the darkness of the cave had aided in her attempt to hide her face. For once, she was thankful for the fog that emanated in the cave.

"That's crazy," Kumi's father, a brash-looking Priest with short graying hair and dark skin sat at the table with the newspaper in his hands. "An Acolyte couldn't have possibly done that. That ability is only granted to Monks."

Kumi's interest was caught.

"Why…can't an Acolyte do something like that?" she asked, trying to make it sound casual. She stirred at the cereal in front of her, wondering why she was doing such a thing in a place like this instead of trying out her new found power.

"Well it's simple." Kumi's mother walked into the room. She was a tall beautiful woman with long red hair and overly large red lips. She sat down at the table. A black cat with a red bow tied around its back hopped up onto her lap. She scratched it behind its large ears. "Every class is limited to a certain amount of skills they can use. For example, a Swordsman can't just all of a sudden use a skill like Grand Cross, which is a skill only a Crusader is able to use. Or, a Thief cannot use Poison React." She paused to chuckle a little to herself. "When one changes their Job, they gain a magical ability that _allows_ them to use skills they never could before. And, since there is no such thing as _un-Job Changing,_ then there is just no way for an Acolyte to have used an Asura Strike."

"Asura what?" Kumi raised an eyebrow.

"Asura Strike." Kumi's father answered as he turned the page in his newspaper and flicked it roughly to straighten its pages."Only very strong Monks are able to use it."

"Being a Monk is such a horrid existence!" Her mother exclaimed. "They are hypocrites. They claim to do God's will, but killing others is NOT God's will. They go around killing and claim it to be for the better good." she made quotations in the air with her fingers. "Aren't you glad to be Job Changing into a Priestess, dear?" She turned to Kumi and smiled. Kumi sank into her chair and said nothing. She only silently mouthed the word "Asura" over and over to herself.

She escaped the awkwardness of her own home and walked the streets outside. She passed the church where her Acolyte comrades practiced their prayers in the sunlight. Father Damon was nowhere to be seen. She walked down past the hundreds of Merchants, Alchemists, and Blacksmiths who populated the streets with their shops. She passed a small fish cart, where a large group of Alchemists were laughing and talking about their Homunculi. Finally, she reached the outskirts of town.

Even the outside areas of Prontera were heavily populated. People sat upon the grass outside, having intellectual and un-intellectual conversations. But mostly un-intellectual. An Assassin with a large purple feathered helmet on his head ran about harassing others and making fun of them. A Novice annoyingly tugged at a Priest's sleeve, asking for a Heal. A lowly Knight by the name of Kenki went up to random people asking them to duel him. He bragged on and on about how strong he was. Kumi ignored the activity around her and continued walking.

She walked until there was no one else in sight. She searched the horizon for an easy monster to kill. A "plip plip plop" sound was heard. She looked and saw a Drops hopping innocently around her. Its gelatinous body was transparent and was a pale tan color that resembled the color of sand. She took a step back and closed her eyes.

"Asura Strike!" Her turned her hand into a fist, and a familiar light emanated from it. The same dark aura appeared above her head along with the un-readable symbols. Sparks flowed through her arm and trailed behind her as she ran towards the Drops. She pounded her fist into its soft gooey body and it burst in an instant. She went flying from the sheer power of her punch and skid across the ground. Her fist made a groove in the ground and she tripped and landed on her back.

Kumi lay on the ground for a few moments, just staring up at the sky. She felt alienated, like the world had suddenly become something she was unaware of. It was as if she no longer knew herself, or those around her. Could her parents be wrong? Could Acolytes really use Asura Strike? And why did she of all people possess such a skill?

She squinted in the warm light of the sun. Then, a round shadow eclipsed the sun and peered down at her. A teenage boy's face looked back at her, smiling.

"Gah!" She got up, startled. She dusted herself off and looked at the boy. He was an Assassin, tall and skinny; almost skinny to the point where it almost made him look scrawny and weak. Underneath his skin-tight clothes were slender muscles built for speed instead of power. Two small and strangely shaped daggers sat on both sides of his belt. A short cape draped down from his belt and covered his back end. Bandages weaved in and out across his chest, arms, and legs. The only real piece of armor on this boy were two small yellow shoulder pads. Despite Assassins having their dark and cruel reputations, this boy's wide smile said otherwise. His blue hair was short, but one side draped lazily over his left eye, hiding it almost completely. He had bright yellow eyes, which contrasted with his blue hair in an oddly stylish way. On his head was a single, thin, dull yellow headband with a white triangle pointing up in the middle.

"What do you want?" Kumi huffed. The boy grabbed her by the wrist, a little too roughly.

"Pardon." He said, his voice sounding deeper and slightly older than how he looked. "But I'm here to kidnap you. Is that alright?"

"What..?" A quick hit to the back of Kumi's neck sent her whole world into darkness.


	2. A Kidnapping

-1_KumiAsura_

By: Kiira Kisa

File 2: A Kidnapping

"Ah wani!" (Ah crocodile!). Ikari collapsed onto the pink laced bed in her bedroom. Stuffed animals lined her walls upon white bookracks, while books lay lazily upon her beige carpet. Upon her desk was a rather large stack of Japanese handbooks. Dust covered them like unsightly ashen snow; their pages had never been turned. But inside this girl's mind was someone determined to learn Japanese……but could never learn. She often guessed from what she learned from the television, shouting out random sentences that made no sense. Her aim was to be cute; and that was all that mattered.

Ikari turned over and lay on her stomach. She peered through her small window and past the silky curtains that gently flowed in the breeze. Amidst the countless buildings in Prontera, there was a single cross that emerged on the tip of the church. She stared at it for a while and sighed.

"I wonder what it'll be like being a Priestess," she said, dreamily. She got up and hopped off her bed. Stopped. Turned around. And faced the window. A wide crazy grin suddenly possessed her face.

"EMPITSUUU!!!!" (PENCIIIILLLL!!!!). She dove for the window and flew out, waving her arms in the air. The tips of her feet caught the edge of the window sill, and she flew face down into the street below her.

"Note to self: Priestess does not equal chick-who-can-fly-out-of-window…" Rubbing her head, she stumbled to her feet. She sat up for a moment on the pavement as passing Merchants looked at her oddly.

"I KNOW!! I'll go hang out with Kumi! I'm sure she'd love to be reminded over and over about the Job Changing tomorrow when it's the last thing in the world that she would ever want to do!!!!" Hopping to her feet, she skipped over to Kumi's house; which was just down the block.

The streets of Prontera hadn't changed at all, even with the incident. People shoved their way through crowds to get the best deal on weaponry and potions. In just a few hours, the "big" news from Payon Cave was as forgotten as the obituaries.

Ikari weaved in and out through the crowds of people as her eyes never left the image of Kumi's house in the distance. She began humming a blissful tune as she arrived at her best friend's door.

Ikari gently knocked on the door and Kumi's father opened it.

"HI MR. RUNESHIRE!!" Ikari beamed. Mr. Runeshire flinched and picked at his ear from Ikari's high pitched squeal.

"…If you're looking for Kumi, she's not here." He knew Ikari all too well. The only time she ever went to their house was to ask for Kumi. It was how things had been for nearly 4 years…

….4...

……..annoying….

………………………...years.

"GENKI DA YO!!!" (I FEEL GREAT!!!) Ikari yelled out in frustration. Mr. Runeshire paused for a moment and rubbed his head.

"I'm guessing you meant to ask _'why?'_" He suggested. Ikari nodded her head.

"Well, she must've gotten bored and wandered off somewhere. You know her; she can never just stay in one place. She was like that when we first took her in…" His voice trailed off and he fell deep into thought. Ikari tilted her head and looked at him strangely, which brought him back to earth.

"Anyway, I'm sure she didn't go far." Not wanting to hear her random screaming response, Mr. Runeshire quickly shut the door. Ikari stood there for a moment and shrugged. She had gotten used to people avoiding her, afterall.

Turning back to the streets, Ikari's blank gaze quickly met the outer wall of Prontera. Knowing her one and only friend, she had to have escaped this crowded and pressuring world she called her home by going outside of town. Despite everyone around her forgetting about the incident in Payon Cave, Ikari had not. She had witnessed something so amazing, that it left her seemingly "bulletproof" friend suddenly defenseless. The memory was faded from her excitement about the Job Changing ceremony, but it hadn't erased itself completely. The sound of Kumi's fist slamming into Dark Illusion's bone armor still rang in Ikari's ears. She remembered crying into her friend's shirt aimlessly. She had taken a small peek to see how Kumi was taking it all. Watching her stare at her own hands, she wondered if Kumi was also staring upon that old rusted metal _thing_ that still dangled around her wrist…

Shaking off the negative thoughts that seemed to creep into her mind, she continued her way towards the southern outer wall. She didn't know why, but she found herself rushing.

_She was only twelve years old. Around this time, everyone else around her age was either working, training, or playing. She was not. She was standing in the middle of a place she had never seen before. She stood before a tall man dressed in a Priest outfit. A woman was with him. Bewildered, she began to back away._

_"My name is Noah Runeshire," the man spoke. "You don't have to be afraid."_

_The woman knelt down and extended her hands. She was dressed in a Priestess outfit._

_"I'm Olivia Runeshire." She said in a hushed voice, as if talking any louder would frighten the poor girl away. Her arms fell at her sides in a more relaxed position. "Do you want to tell us your name?"_

_Looking down, the girl raised her hands in front of her face. She was covered in dirt. Her body was protected only by a long raggedy cloth that was open in the back. Her backside was hidden by tying both ends of the cloth together in an un-neatly fashion._

_"I don't know..." She spoke in a hushed voiced softer than Olivia's. Her eyes traced down her palm and fell upon something dangling around her left hand's wrist. As she turned her hand over and over to examine it, a soft metal clinking sound was emitted from the small links turning together. One stray link hung off another; it was half opened and loose, as if torn off of something. A thin curved piece of metal was linked in the middle of the chain like a bracelet. Upon it, worn out carvings of letters and markings offered much more to her than just a design…_

_She turned it over and squinted to read a faded word, in which only a few letters remained. _

_"K…umi…"_

With a huge gasp, as if being released from a strangle hold, Kumi awoke. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. It took her a while to take in her surroundings as she shifted to the edge of the bed she was sitting on. Finally, after a few moments, she put her feet on the ground and stood to look around.

It was a dirty old room; everything was the color of sand. Light was blocked from a nearby window with boards and a single bed sheet. Heat radiated from the small cracks in the wall. Curtains were draped around the bed like an old canopy, leaving a small space for her to walk out. The floor boards creaked as she walked, and the smell of dust was fresh in the air. At that moment, she wished she was back in the even less welcoming Payon Cave.

Suddenly she stopped. She felt a warm presence before her; like a body. Gentle breathing was heard and she took a few steps back.

"Ruwalk." She murmured. A bright blue light spun around her, revealing the figure before her. Startled, she jumped back and raised her fists. It was the boy who had kidnapped her. He flinched and jumped back a few steps.

"AHAHHAHAAA!!" he suddenly broke into laughter." Oh my god I totally forgot about that skill. Wow. Fail. AHAHAA!"

Kumi's confusion was suddenly taken over by sheer anger. She grabbed the blue-haired Assassin by the throat.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU WEIRDO!?!" She yelled into his face. This only made him laugh harder. Frustrated, Kumi began shaking him angrily. "WHERE AM I!?!? WHO ARE YOU!?!? WHY HAVE YOU TAKEN ME HERE?!!?" She stopped shaking him and waited for him to stop laughing. Her hands didn't leave his neck though, and she finally released him when his face turned almost as blue as his hair.

"Wow! You totally don't look like you would've done that." he managed to talk through his wheezing. "I was expecting you to like…heal me or something HAHAHAA!!"

Growling, Kumi threw a punch towards the boy's face. Suddenly his laughter stopped, and in blinding speed he ducked down, twisted around and dodged it. He popped up from behind her. Kumi turned around and for a few brief moments, she finally saw exactly _why_ he was an Assassin.; there was that same coldness in his eyes that every emotionless killer in the world was known for. The seriousness from the boy's eyes faded, and was replaced with a wide grin.

"Don't worry!" He said with a chuckle. "We're not gonna harm you!"

"We?"

"Oh! My guild and I! We just have some questions and…"

"I heard the words _'my guild'_ and decided to drop in," a deep voice was heard and the door opened with a loud creak. A tall man with long dark brown hair that went well down his back walked into the room. He was an Assassin, just like the blue-haired boy, but this one looked much stronger. His large muscles were hidden by the purplish-mauve colored suit that made him an Assassin. His eyes were much colder, more serious than the other boy's. The rare daggers at his side were covered in dry blood. Compared to the other boy's clean spotless daggers, this man was obviously of much more importance.

The blue-haired Assassin immediately turned to him and smiled. The man shook his head.

"The guild belongs to _me_," the man said, seeming bored. He stopped and eyed Kumi. She didn't hesitate to stare him down.

"Kairel," the sound of the name spoken caught the blue-haired Assassin's attention.

"Yeeessssss?"

"…isn't this girl a bit too young for you? I mean seriously. Do you gotta seduce her _here_?" The man laughed a bit to himself, but Kumi was already strangling Kairel again.

"DON'T TELL ME THAT THAT WAS YOUR PLAN ALL ALONG!!!!" She yelled. Kairel waved his arms in the air franticly.

"NO NO!!" He squirmed. "NONONONONONONONONO!!! I JUST BROUGHT YOU HERE TO ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS, THAT'S ALL!! SEMERRUUU!! WHY'D YOU FILL HER HEAD WITH SUCH LIIIEEEESSS?!"

Semeru laughed. Then, in a matter of seconds, that same serious look was on his face again. He stared at Kairel, who had been released by Kumi and was gasping for breath on the floor.

"Ok really," he began, leaning against the door frame. "Why is she here?"

Kairel coughed and straightened up. He stood and glanced nervously at Kumi, then to Semeru. A sudden sadness took over Kairel's face. This made Kumi uneasy.

"I think…she might be able to help me." he said quietly, averting his gaze to the ground. Semeru paused before he replied, as if to take in the situation.

"To find _her?_" He asked. Kairel nodded. Semeru slowly shook his head.

"You've already gone to many people asking for their help. Now you're kidnapping random people based on your hunches? What makes you so sure _this_ time?"

"I know I'm right this time!" Kairel met Semeru's concerned gaze with determination. But it only lasted for a few moments; Kairel's gaze met the ground again. Semeru sighed.

"Look, you go on believing what you want." He paused. "It's been 2 years, Kai. I'm sorry… but… your sister's gone." And with that, Semeru turned and left the two alone.

An awkward silence followed his leave. Until finally, Kumi tugged at Kairel's arm, forcing him to face her.

"I want to know what you want with me," she said as calmly as possible. "Why am I here? Who is it you want me to find? And why me?"

Kairel hesitated. He took Kumi's left hand and pulled back the long sleeve on her arm. A loose chain-like bracelet was revealed. It rolled down and stopped at her wrists, making a soft clinking noise. The light from the outside filtered through the boards on the window, revealing a dull faded shade of red that was barely noticeable before upon the bracelet. Kumi stared at it for a few seconds and snatched her hand away. Kairel smiled again.

"You're not the only one, you know."

Meanwhile, Ikari found herself on the edge of green lush grass staring out into the harsh desert. The jelly-like remains of a Drops lay on the grass near her feet. Her eyes met the ground and she spotted something. She knelt down and traced her fingertips along two sets of footprints leading out into the desert…

….one of them belonged to Kumi.

Ikari paused, looking back and forth from the beautiful all-year-round spring weather scenery, to the hot-summer-Southern California desert weather scenery. Sighing, she knew what she had to do.

Ikari ran back home to get some bottled water…and set off to find her.


	3. Laugh

_KumiAsura_

By: Kiira Kisa

File 3: Laugh

Kumi sighed. Her stay wasn't anything less than horrible. So far, her kidnapping lasted about 5 hours. She was only allowed to leave the room to use the bathroom outside, which was an old wooden outhouse. She hadn't eaten yet, and while it didn't entirely seem like Kairel or Semeru meant her any direct harm, she was surely dying of boredom.The idea of using Asura to break out had dawned on her, but her efforts proved pointless after Kairel had bounded her hands behind her back with a strong chain.

Kairel kept a close eye on her as she sat quietly inside of the dark and lifeless room. She collapsed onto the bed, tossing and turning every now and then. The dust from the old tattered bed made her sneeze.

"Odin bless you." Kairel said. Kumi glared at him for a few moments and sighed again. She picked up the dusty pillow sitting on the side of her bed with her teeth and tossed it at the intimidating yet innocent-seeming Assassin. He moved aside a few steps to evade it. This only made Kumi more frustrated.

"When the hell are you going to let me go?" She asked. Kairel didn't answer. He leaned over and picked up a large tray of muffins that had been sitting by his side. '_…how long have those been there?"_ Kumi wondered.

"You must be hungry!" Kairel suggested, smiling as usual. Suddenly he spoke with an odd accent and began reciting an odd scene: "What would you like for breakfast, Kumi?"

She blinked. "How do you know my…"

"…That's right! At Serus Victoria muffins, we know that muffins make the best breakfast! So why not try all of our exciting new flavas?"

"What are you…"

"Raspberry. Cranberry. Apples. Cinnamon. Pecan. Pumpkin. Nut. Date Nut. Lemon Poppy Seed muffin. BANANA…."

Kumi stared blankly at Kairel as he continued to list off muffins. Then she realized that they had planned this all along; This was her torture.  
"Fish. Paperclip. Ink. Poring. Bird. MVP muffin! AHH! Shampoo. Star Wars muffin. Rhoda Frog. Game Master muffin. Cigarette. (coughs) Isreali-Palistinian conflict muffins. Bits of glass muffin. Ohhhhhhhhhhh. Absestos. IM BAKING MUFFINS AS BEST AS I CAN HAHAHAHAHAH!!"

"…"  
"World of Warcraft muffin! Mjolnir. Elephant. Dead Branch muffin! Oh noes! Pencil. Japanese school girl muffin. FIRE WALL!!! Imaaaaaaginary muffin. Bot muffin! Cartoon muffin!  
……………….Blood."

"Are you done?"

"What muffin would you like for breakfast Kumi?"

"Who told you my name? I never told-…"

"Oh you'll eat a muffin. You'll eat it and LIKE IT!!!"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU IDIOT!??!!"

Kairel laughed and shoved a chocolate chip muffin in his mouth.

"Nffng. Iff avwaays antd to oo at!"

"What?"

Kairel swallowed the muffin in one gulp.

"I said: Nothing. I've always wanted to do that!"

"Tell me, is the Assassin Job Change test difficult? Because I'm thinking about having my friend's 4 year-old limbless son with down-syndrome and a severe case of ADD take it. I think he'll do really well, seeing as Assassins now-a-days seem to be well-educated and skilled." Kumi said sarcastically while eyeing Kairel. Kairel tilted his head.

"….what?" he asked.

"Nevermind."

The old wooden door opened with a loud creak and a girl with revealing clothing shyly stepped in. She wore a long red coat with fur tracing the edges. Her legs were covered in fishnet stalking and very short black shorts. Black leather bracelets with metal spikes protected her wrists, which only further hid the kind of person she really was. Despite her tough and expressive appearance, she entered the room very quietly and eyed Kumi and Kairel shyly. Kumi identified her to be of the Rogue class.

"Hi Seito!!" Kairel greeted her with his usual overbearing smile. She smiled back and glanced at Kumi uneasily.

"Semeru-sama said to take her to a different room." She said quietly. "He said that that treating her nicely may influence her…decision." She bowed her head a little as her eyes met Kumi's.

"The only decision _I'm _making involves going HOME." Kumi stuck up her nose and looked away in a "hmph" fashion.

"Kay kays. I'll take her to a different room then. Thanks." Kairel put his hand on Kumi's shoulder and led her outside the room. Seito quietly left the two alone, just as quietly as she had entered.

The bright light hurt Kumi's eyes. She looked around her in awe as she stepped out of the dark and murky room and into a royal castle. The walls were lined with unlit torches and stone statues. The hallways were trailed by a thick red carpet that ran throughout the entire castle. Kairel politely led her into a large room with a white bed covered in silk blankets. A thin transparent cloth canopy hung about its borders, and rich wooden dressers sat neatly against the walls. Kumi turned to Kairel angrily.

"Why'd you make me stay in that shitty little room when your guild lived in a castle this whole time?!" She head butted him over and over. "AND WHY. DID. YOU. MAKE. ME. USE. AN. OUT. HOUSE!??!"

Kairel spun around in circles in dizzyness for a few moments then regained his posture.

"Semeru said to put any prisoners in that room just to fuck with their heads!!" He announced proudly. "Oh, but the outhouse had to be used because our toilet doesn't flush at the moment. But we're getting it fixed soon!"

"I hate you."

The hot sun beat down upon Ikari's timid figure mercilessly. She kept her head staring at the ground, following the footsteps further and further into the desert. She passed by Baby Desert Wolves, whom barked annoyingly and whined as they trotted around looking for food. Small birds called Picky's hopped around, singing softly. They seemed unaffected by the heat as they covered their heads with thick eggshells. Large ants called Andre picked at the sand and twitched their antennae. A trail of them led to a large unidentifiable carcass roasting in the sand. Ikari frowned and avoided it as much as possible.

She continued walking along the desert until she saw something in the distance. Something large was running towards her; something large and brown. She stopped in her tracks and removed the mace at her belt. She held it firmly in front of her. Despite her strong grip, her knees quivered and shook with fear. Then, it became clear: it was a large brown Desert Wolf, snarling and running towards her. A bright light formed upon her right hand and she flung it at the wolf.

"Holy Light!" The light hit the wolf square on, but only slowed it down temporarily. It shook it off and continued running towards her.

Ikari held her hand out towards the wolf again.

"Decrease Agi!" The wolf's running speed was slowed down by half, and Ikari began running around it.

_'I have to follow the tracks!' _she thought. _'I can't lose them or else I'll never find Kumi!'_ She threw both of her arms in the air in a sweeping motion.

"Increase Agi!" Her running speed increased by double as she sprinted past the confused and frustrated Desert Wolf.

Soon, she had lost sight of the wolf. It had long given up on her and continued wandering through the desert. Ikari slowed her pace and collapsed onto her knees, panting. She looked around and spotted a tall palm tree that offered little shade. However, it was the only shade around and she quickly took advantage of it.

Leaning her back against the trunk of the palm tree, she closed her eyes and waited for her breathing to return to normal. She placed the mace back upon her belt and looked around. Just a few feet in front of her, the tracks sat upon the shallow sand. She sighed.

"What if someone is doing something really horrible to Kumi…?" she wondered to herself. Dark thoughts infected her mind and made her even more worried. She shook them off and made a fist. "No. Kumi is stronger than that. She wouldn't let anything bad happen…..would she?" The memory of Kumi staring at her fist after killing the Dark Illusion made her wonder even more. "What if….I'm just running around in circles? What if Kumi is already at the church waiting for me?" She covered her face with her hands, confused at what to do. "..what do I do?"

"She was kidnapped alright. I saw it." a man's voice startled Ikari and she stumbled onto her feet. She looked around hastily and kept her hand on her mace's hilt.

"Wh-wh-who said that?! Who's there? Show yourself!" She shivered with fright but didn't dare back down. Just then, a figure slid down from the trunk of the palm tree and jumped onto the sand. The figure's landing was anything but graceful, as he fell onto his back and quickly stood on his feet, pretending that it didn't happen. Ikari jumped back and held her mace in front of her.

"The name's Arclyde. Arclyde Aeis. But you can call me Arc." The sun shone brightly upon the man's face. He had long brown hair with bangs that overlapped his green eyes. His hair was tied into a short braid that went slightly past his shoulders. He wore a long ragged brown cloth, which seemed odd because he wore seemingly "normal" clothes underneath. A short-sleeved shirt with a striped dull-yellow shirt underneath. Long tan-ish shorts stopped just above his knees, as his legs were covered in skin-tight gray pants. A long badly carved bow sat upon his back, accompanied by a full quiver of arrows. Ikari looked up and a large brown falcon sat upon the leaves of the palm tree. But upon his head was the most surprising feature: he wore a slightly dirty yet very rare Bunny Headband. Ikari was too confused to laugh.

"H-hello…" Ikari said, uneasily. Arclyde gave her a smile which calmed her a bit.

"I saw a blue-haired Assassin about 5 hours ago." He pointed in the direction the tracks led. "He was carrying a young female Acolyte over his shoulder and was singing and skipping."

"Singing and skipping?" Ikari tilted her head.

"Yeah. He kept singing 'I kidnapped a girl! I kidnapped a girl!' over and over." He stopped and chuckled to himself. "Doesn't get anymore obvious than that, right?"

"If you knew he kidnapped someone, why didn't you stop him?" Ikari asked, her voice held a touch of anger in it.

"Hm. I dunno. I was too busy trying to hunt for some food." He laughed a bit in embarrassment. His laughter was soon interrupted by a swift hit to the face from Ikari's mace.

"THAT BLUE-HAIRED ASSASSIN KIDNAPPED MY BEST FRIEND AND YOU WERE TOO BUSY THINKING ABOUT FOOD!??!?!?!" Ikari shoved Arclyde's face into the sand with her foot. Arclyde squirmed and flailed his arms around until Ikari finally removed her foot. He resurfaced and shook the sand out of his hair. He glared at Ikari.

"Hey! It's not my fault! I haven't eaten in days! I could've starved to death!" he yelled.

"You're a Hunter! It's easy for you to find food anywhere!"

"Not in the desert!"

"Well weren't you trained for this sort of situation!?!?"

"Not really!"

"What do you mean 'not really'?!"

"I mean not really!"

"Why are you in the middle of the desert if you don't know how to survive here?!"

"I should be asking you the same question!!"

"I'M LOOKING FOR MY FRIEND WHO WAS JUST KIDNAPPED!! BESIDES! I BROUGHT A WATER BOTTLE WITH ME!!" Ikari pulled out a half-filled water bottle. Arclyde swatted the bottle out of her hand and it landed in the sand. Ikari and Arclyde glared angrily at each other.

Arclyde pouted and looked away.

"You should be glad that I even told you where he went." He grumbled. Ikari sighed and stepped in front of him, forcing him to look at her.

"You're going to protect me until I find her." She said sternly.

"I don't think so…."

"That WASN'T a question."

A loud snarl interrupted Ikari's stern gaze. Arclyde and Ikari looked over their shoulders and they were surrounded by a large pack of Desert Wolves. Ikari shrieked and hid behind Arclyde. Arclyde quickly took out his bow and aimed a flaming arrow at one of the wolves. They all growled louder and began closing in. Ikari clinged tightly onto Arclyde.

"Do something!" She wailed.

"Ikari," Arclyde said softly. "I want you to do exactly what I say."

Ikari nodded.

"I want you to climb up this tree and make sure at least one of your hands is free. Ok?"

"Er, but…"

"JUST DO IT! GO NOW!!"

Ikari panicked and scrambled up the tree. The wolves pounced onto Arclyde. His body was covered by fur and fangs, thrashing about in every direction.

"Arc!!" Ikari yelled. She kept one hand free and looked at it for a few moments, realizing now what Arclyde had meant. "He needs me to heal him while he fights…" she said to herself. A loud blast was heard underneath the pile of wolf bodies and they went flying back. Several of them were plummeted by fire arrows, but still rose to fight Arclyde.

"AGI ME!" Arclyde yelled. Ikari hesitated then pointed her palm towards him.

"Increase Agi!" Arclyde sped past the wolves and lay down a line of wooden traps with arrows pointing backwards on them around him and the palm tree. The wolves stepped onto the traps and were flung backwards. Another huge blast was heard and the wolves flew into midair. Red mines were hidden underneath the sand and had exploded upon impact from the wolves that had skidded back from the Skid Traps.

_'Land Mines?' _Ikari thought. _'When did he lay those down? He must be really fast…'_

Arclyde readied his bow and arrow as the remaining wolves lunged at him.

"Give me more power!" Arclyde shouted.

"H-huh?"

"Use Blessing!"

"B-Blessing!!" Ikari extended her hand and a bright light in the form of angels circled Arclyde. He felt his whole body surge with more speed and strength. He reached into the quiver on his back and took out a handful of arrows.

"Arrow Shower!" He shot an array of arrows at the wolf in front of him. It fell to the ground, its entire chest covered in arrows. Arclyde reached into his quiver and took out more arrows. He spun on one of his feet and fired more arrows. "Arrow Shower!!" He shouted again. This time, his arrows cleared a 360 degree radius around him, eliminating what was left of the wolves. He fell onto his hands and knees in exhaustion.

"Heal!" A green light surrounded Arclyde and his wounds were healed. He stood up and smiled.

"Heh, we make a good team." He said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Sukoshi ramen!!!" ("Little ramen/Ramen noodles!!!") Ikari exclaimed. Arclyde looked at her awkwardly.

"Er….alrighty then." Arclyde scratched his head.

Suddenly, a shadow from behind the palm tree darted out and sprinted off the sand in their direction. It was a Desert Wolf, whom had evaded Arclyde's arrows by hiding behind the tree. Arclyde grabbed Ikari and pulled her behind him. He looked up to his falcon sitting ready at the top of the tree.

"Terrace! Blitz Beat!!!" He shouted. The bird let out a high-pitched cry and dove towards the last remaining Desert Wolf. In a flash, it cut through the wolf in all directions like a machine gun being fired from all sides. The wolf fell, defeated, and the falcon swiftly landed on Arclyde's arm. Ikari stepped out from behind Arclyde. She gazed sadly upon the dead wolves around them and began to cry.

"What? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Arclyde asked, confused and concerned. She shook her head.

"How can I expect to support anyone when I'm a Priestess if I can't even use the right spells without being told what to do?" she sobbed. "How can I protect anyone if I can't even bear to see monsters getting hurt?"

"Don't cry! Erm…" Arclyde panicked. "…it's completely natural to freak out like this! I mean, I didn't like the idea of killing anything when I decided to become a Hunter. But, we do what we have to to survive." he paused to think of the right words to say. "We only did this to defend ourselves. And I only hunt for food. If we didn't do these things, then _we'd _be dead, not them. And we'd never be able to go find your friend together, right?"

"S-so…so….you'll come along with me to find her?" Ikari sniffled.

"Course I will." Arclyde reassured her.

"Promise?" She gazed up at him with tear filled eyes.

"I promise."

Then, Ikari's tears disappeared and she smiled. She grabbed his braid and tugged at it.

"Good! I knew you'd come through for me!!" She grinned.

"Eh? Was that all an act?!" Arclyde yelled as he was being dragged along by his braid.

"Had to make sure you wouldn't flake out!" She said proudly. "And now that you've given me your word, there's no way I'm letting you go!"

"Could you at least let go of my braid?"

Ikari let go of Arclyde's braid and the walked alongside her as she followed the tracks in the sand.

"I don't think I ever caught your name…." He told her.

"Oh! It's Ikari. Ikari Rihanna."

"Rihanna? Isn't that a song artist?"

"What? Mishin? (sewing machine?)"

"Umbrella? You know? Jay-Z?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nevermind."

Together, the two of them followed the tracks down the desert sand dunes. Behind them, Ikari's half-filled water bottle lay untouched in the sand.

Kumi sat on the white bed, still just as bored as she had been in the other, less comforting, room. Kairel, though seeming like the type of person to doze off, hadn't stopped watching Kumi for a moment. She wondered if his bladder had exploded.

"Oi." Kumi called to him. "What's this whole deal with your sister? Tell me."

Kairel paused. He sat cross-legged on the ground and leaned his back against the door.

"You remind me of my sister," his voice was low. "Except, you know. Without the part about you being sort-of a bitch."

"Don't make me tear your balls off with my teeth, blue boy." Kumi warned him. Kairel flinched at the thought of it and continued.

"My sister had a mysterious power, just like you. It was a power that only a higher class should possess."

"What do you mean?"

Kairel made a 10 with his hands and showed Kumi his palms.

"My sister could use Poison React."

"You're lying."

"Why would I lie?" Kairel looked Kumi in her eyes and she knew at that moment that he was telling the truth.

"…Go on."

"My sister's name is Kaelana. She was kind-hearted and thoughtful. She always put others before herself. But…" he paused. "…she never let anyone touch her. Whenever someone did, they would suddenly get poisoned and die……" his voice trailed off. "Kaelana's power was…..unstable. She could only be around someone who had green pots or herbs, or knew the skill Detoxify to heal themselves from the poison. But even then, she was still shunned from society."

Kairel gazed up at the ceiling.

"My sister was a good person. She was just misunderstood….I met her hiding in an abandoned house in Morroc…."

_Flashback:_

_"Hello? Is anyone there?" A young Kairel steps into an abandoned brick house. Soft crying is heard in the dark corners of the room._

_"Hello?"_

_"Stay away!" a young girl's voice cries. She flattens herself against the wall, cowering at the sight of Kairel. Kairel slowly approaches her._

_"It's alright. I just want to friends. So please, don't cry."_

_"I don't want friends!" the girl shouted. "Go away! You'll only get hurt!"_

_"Please-…" Kairel touches the girl's hand but is suddenly flung back by an invisible force. The girl screams._

_"I'm sorry!! I told you not to get close!!" She cries. The girl bends down to see if the boy is ok. Kairel groans and rolls over on his side. He starts to breath harder and sweat pours down his face. He starts to cough up blood. The girl cries harder._

_"I'm sorry!! I'm sorry! I'll find help! Please don't die!!"_

_"Detoxify!" A green smoke-like light surrounds Kairel and he slowly rises to his feet. The girl stops and stares at him. He wipes the blood from his mouth, and smiles._

_"See? I'm ok! No harm done!" he laughs._

_"You didn't die…but…"_

_"Silly. I'm a Thief, so I taught myself Detoxify. Pretty cool huh?" He pauses. "But wait a minute, how did you poison me like that? Was that Envenom?"_

_The girl shook her head, and tears began gushing out again. Kairel casts another Detoxify on himself and put his hands on the girl's shoulders._

_"You're going to get hurt again! Don't touch me!" she cries._

_"It's alright. I'm not like everyone else. So, let's be friends, kay?"_

_The girl cries into the boy's shirt, as he casts another Detoxify and holds her close._

(End of Flashback)

"My sister and I aren't related by blood, but ever since I met her that day, I vowed to protect her and be an older brother to her." He looked back at Kumi, who was listening intently, for once.

"What does all this have to do with me?" she asked.

Kairel pointed to Kumi's bracelet.

"My sister also had a bracelet identical to the one you have. I've never seen those bracelets on anyone else." He stood up. "Both you and my sister have abilities that you shouldn't have. I thought that maybe…..you might know where to find her. Like…you would have some clues to your past that might help-…"

"I don't have a past." Kumi interrupted. "I have no recollection of my childhood at all…"

"…neither did Kaelana."

Kumi sighed.

"Look. I've never met your sister, nor anyone like me, ok? I have no idea how I could possibly help to find her. That Seme-whatever-guy said that she's been gone for two years, right? Well then….maybe…."

"No!" Kairel shouted. "She's alive! I know she is! She ran away to protect me but….I know she's still alive!!"

"Even so, there's no way I could find her in all of Rune Midgard. It's impossible."

Kairel sulked.

"Won't you even try?" he asked sadly.

"I have my own life mysteries to solve." Kumi said sternly. "I have my own problems to deal with. I'm supposed to become a Priestess tomorrow, and now I have the power of a Monk? I don't even know where I came from, or who my real parents are. I can't help you, Kairel."

Kairel fell silent.

"Oi." Kumi called. Kairel glanced at the young Acolyte.

"Hm?"

"What was with that muffin thing earlier?"

A faint smile appeared on Kairel's lips.

"I did that cuz well….I was hungry and…..I wanted to make you laugh."

"Make me laugh?"

"Yeah. Cuz…I didn't wanna make you sad, because I had to…kidnap you."

"Kairel?"

"Yuh?"

"You're an idiot."

He smiled.

"I know."


	4. Liberatio

_KumiAsura_

By: Kiira Kisa

File 4: Liberatio

"By order of our guild leader, Semeru Dell'isola, I am here to kill you, trespasser!!" The Knight in silver armor reared back the reigns he held upon the great Peco Peco bird, and it honked triumphantly. Ikari stood frozen amidst the spears and blades that were just waiting to pierce her delicate, pale skin. Her fear overrode her resentment towards Arclyde, whom had fled just when she had needed him most.

"Y-y-you've got me all wrong!!" Ikari panicked, her mind ran wild with excuses. "I-I'm just taking a nice afternoon stroll…….in the desert…..alone…..with…no water!! …By the way, did you happen to see where the Hunter next to me went? I think HE is your trespasser, not me!!" she laughed nervously, eyeing the Knight carefully. The Knight's prideful voice suddenly calmed down, and revealed a voice that was almost monotone and young-sounding.

"I didn't see a Hunter. You were here by yourself." He paused and scratched his helm. "Then again, the sun sorta shined off my overly-polished armor, so I don't really know…." He trailed off and seemed to fall into a daze for a few moments. Ikari blinked.

"What?" Ikari asked, confused. "That's impossible, he was right here just a few seconds ago!"

"Oh…where were we?" He ignored Ikari's complaints and adjusted his helm. Waving his spear in the air, he began to announce triumphantly again. "Vile beast! I am here to slay you! You have treaded upon sacred land!"

"You mean….sand in the middle of nowhere?"

"How DARE you insult the land owned by Serus Victoria!! We-…" The Knight was interrupted by a distant song playing. He frisked his own armor for a few seconds and took out a small black PM device. It was playing a tune from something in a game called World of Warcraft.

(PM is short for Private Message. On Ragnarok Online, PM'ing is a method used to contact other plays in private. In my story, a PM_device _is the equivalent to a cell phone)

The Knight opened it up and answered it.

"Yeah? … Oh hi Sem. … No I didn't kill her. …What? …I'm not supposed to? …But … but … ugh. … Ok then. … Bring her to the castle? … Ok. … … … … Oh, I want sausage on mine. … And a Dr. Pepper. … … Marinara sauce. … Aight."

A light beeping sound was heard and the conversation ended. He closed the PM device and placed it on a bag at his side.

"Ok. You're coming with me." He said. The blades and spears around Ikari's face disappeared in a poof of sand and smoke, along with the Assassins. The Knight grabbed Ikari and pulled her hands forward, tying a strong rope around them. He tied the rope to the end of the saddle on the Peco Peco and started walking.

"Let me go!!" Ikari struggled and tugged at the rope.

"Vile beast!" The Knight announced. "You are within my clutches now! There is no escape!"

"When my friend Kumi finds out what you're doing to me, she's gonna pound your ugly face in!!!" Ikari threatened. The Knight laughed.

"Don't make me drag you all the way there, girl." He looked back and smirked. Ikari glared at him and fell silent.

"By the way, don't even think about Teleporting." He added. "That rope is enchanted with the magic of the Golden Thief Bug. Which means that it's impervious to magic. Anything touching it cannot use magic."

_'Damnit. I should've thought of that sooner. Ah hyakusho hyozan..'_(Iceburg farmer) Ikari sighed.

Kumi sat in the bedroom, growing tired of the sheer silence and stillness of the castle walls. She peered over at Kairel, who was sound-asleep on the floor, curled up like a cat on a rug. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Teleport!" She whispered. She waited a few moments and opened her eyes. Nothing had happened. "What the hell?" She struggled over and over, her wrists growing red from the tight grip from the chains. She sighed and fell back onto the bed on her side.

A loud slam of a door opening made her flinch. She rolled on her belly and sat up. Kairel yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"What was that?" He mumbled. He opened the door and walked out.

"HEY!!" Kumi yelled. "DON'T JUST LEAVE ME HERE!! HEY!!"

Kairel made his way down the hall way and met Semeru, who was standing before the wooden front gates. The gates were open, and a Knight strolled in on his Peco Peco, leading a young female Acolyte by a rope. The young Acolyte was blindfolded, to protect the location of the guild castle.

"What were you doing on your way to my castle?" Semeru asked her.

"I'm here for Kumi!!" Ikari demanded. "Let her…er…us….go right this instant!!"

"You're in no position to be asking anything of me." The coldness in his voice sent a chill up Ikari's spine. She shook her head until the blindfold loosened, and she gripped it with her teeth and pulled it down. She brought her eyes up to Semeru.

"I'm really sorry, this is all my fault!" Kairel rubbed the back of his head and stepped forward. "I'll explain everything to you. Please don't harm her, Semeru." He turned to his friend, who was undaunted.

"I_won't_ if she _doesn't_ pose a _threat_." He started tapping his foot impatiently. "Honestly Kai. Who else do you want to provoke? Enemies from Arunafeltz? Freya herself?

"Gah, I'm sorry Semeru!!" Kairel laughed nervously.

"What do I do with her?" The Knight asked, nudging Ikari harshly. "And when's the pizza getting here?"

"Stick her in the room next to the other one." Semeru said, yawning. "And it should be here in a few minutes."

Despite Kairel's request to not have Ikari harmed, Ikari was kicked into a room identical to Kumi's. She landed face-first onto a thin red rug with Mayan patterns. Seph shut the door and walked off, cheering over pizza and soda.

"That stupid Arclyde." Ikari mumbled, stumbling to her feet. She looked around and sat against the wall. On the other side, Kumi sat against the same wall. "How could he leave me like that?" She sighed and lay her head against the wall. "Some rescue…"

"I need to get out of here." Kumi murmured from the other side.

"Yeah me too. I need to change into a Priestess. I did all that hard work…"

"I want to tell my parents that I don't want to be a Priestess. I need to stand up for myself."

"Yeah."

"…"

"…"

"KUMI?"

"IKARI?"

Both Kumi and Ikari turned and pressed their ears against the wall.

"Kumi is that you?" Ikari yelled.

"Yeah! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm here to save you!!"

"Oh wow. That completely restores my confidence." Kumi said sarcastically.

"Kummiii. How did you get here?"

"An idiot named Kairel kidnapped me so that I can help find his sister or something. Seriously. How the hell am I supposed to do that? I'm only 16 and I barely pass for being an Acolyte. What about you?"

"Me and this Hunter named Arclyde were on our way to save you!"

"A Hunter?"

"Yeah! He had bunny ears and looked homeless!"

"I've never heard of such a Hunter. You sure it wasn't just a mirage?"

"I'm sure!! He protected me from Desert Wolves and everything!" Ikari huffed.

"Uh huh. And where is he now?"

"He disappeared the minute we got captured!"

"Mhmmm…"

"KUMI!!"

A soft clicking noise was heard and Kumi's door was opened. Kairel walked in, his eyes not leaving the ground.

"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble. I'm not much of an Assassin, am I?" He said sadly. He walked over and opened Ikari's door too. Ikari flailed around and fell upon the floor on her belly. She stared up at Kairel, who gently cut off the ropes around her wrists. Puzzled, Ikari looked at him awkwardly. She followed Kairel as he walked into Kumi's room. He crouched down to Kumi, who was still sitting on the floor against the wall. She had taken a more defensive expression though, as she glared into Kairel's eyes.

"I'm really sorry for all this. You're right; I can't force you into helping me. I guess…I just got really desperate. But I could never harm someone to make them do something for me, and I know that you're just stubborn enough to defy me until the end."

"You're letting us go?" She asked. Kairel reached over and, despite his skinny arms, he pulled the chains apart, releasing Kumi's hands. They both stood up. "What about your sister?" Kumi asked.

"I guess I'll just travel til the ends of the earth to find her…on my own." He forced a thin smile that only made the room seem dimmer. Ikari walked cautiously around Kairel until she got to Kumi, where she then clinged to her arm.

"Just like that? No tricks? There's no catch?" Kumi eyed Kairel carefully. Kairel shook his head. She turned to Ikari.

"Alright then. Let's go."

"Wait…" Ikari paused. "…so, we'll never see each other again?"

"Probably not." Kairel forced an awkward smile upon the two girls, who just stood silently.

"Kumi." Kairel's voice was suddenly slightly stern. "If you ever change your mind…just say my name."

A long pause filled the room and silence followed. Kumi opened her mouth, as if about to come back at him with a witty comeback, but she stopped herself.

"I hope you find your sister." She said softly. Kairel nodded. Ikari reached into her pocket and took out a small yellow gem. She placed it on the floor in front of her.

"Warp Portal !!" As she said this, she threw her arms in the air. The yellow gem upon the ground started glowing and a circle of light formed around it. As the circle of light got brighter, the gem disintegrated into tiny particles in the air and the circle of light extended up towards the ceiling of the castle.

Kumi took one last look at Kairel. He stood there smiling, like he always had. But there was a new feeling to his smile this time; from it, she felt nothing. Sick of his goddamn smile, Kumi walked into the bright light and disappeared. Ikari turned to wave goodbye to Kairel, but he was nowhere to be seen. She looked around for a few moments, shrugged, and followed Kumi into the portal back to their home.

The next day, Kumi awoke to the softness of her own bed. The events of yesterday were long forgotten, and despite her wishing that this day hadn't come, it had. The Job Changing Ceremony was in a few hours.

She trotted down the stairs of her cozy little home; hopped over the sleeping Wild Rose on the last step; checked around the corner into her kitchen, but saw no one.

"Mom? Dad?" she called. Her voice echoed slightly and made the cat's ears twitch.

She sat at the kitchen table and listened to the silence of her house. Gentle ticking could be heard from a tall clock carved to resemble the Clock monster from Al de Baran..

Listening to the silence, she hears a faint voice.

_"…sleep."_

Kumi cocked her head and heard remnants of a conversation. She quietly rose and followed the voice. She traced it to her front door. As the voice seemed to get more and more distant, she peeked out of the front window and saw Father Damon and her parents talking.

"Kumi is asleep, don't worry." Kumi's mother spoke softly. "We appreciate you doing this, father. We really need the money right now."

_'Money?'_Kumi ducked down out of sight, pressing her ear against the wall.

"Making Kumi job change into a Priestess is all we can do right now. It's a shame the reputation of the Runeshire family isn't as highly revered as it was in the past." Kumi's father shook his head sadly.

"It is a shame." Father Damon said. "I'm sorry to say this, but your daughter is nowhere near Priestess material. I should have failed her but, I'm doing this for you two."

"Thank you father. If we are able to keep our reputation as the support Priests of Prontera, we can continue to get paid by King Tristan. We will go bankrupt if we do not recruit Kumi into the group. They need us to defend the city, you know."

"Well, you won't have to worry about a thing…."

Their voices faded out as Kumi's ear left the wall. She slowly walked back, avoiding the light that the window emitted.

_'…what am I? Fucking EBAY?' _She brought her fist down towards the table but stopped abruptly. She did not want to make a lot of noise so that her parents could hear her. Just as she unclenched her fist to walk back to her room, the front door opened. She froze and turned around slowly. Her parents stood in the doorway, paused for a moment, and smiled.

"Oh good morning Kumi." her mother said, in a voice that seemed too sweet. "Why haven't you gotten ready yet?"

"Ready for what..?" Kumi asked; a sudden nervousness overcame her usual headstrong demeanor.

"The Job Changing Ceremony!" Kumi's father exclaimed. Kumi's blood ran cold. "Father Damon has decided to start it early today because so many of the Acolytes were too excited to wait!"

An awkward silence followed Kumi's parents' excitement. Their cheerful moods died down as they watched their daughter stand emotionless.

"What if…" Kumi began, suddenly careful of her words. "…what if I wanted to become something other than a Priestess?"

The awkwardness in the room turned into something far more grim, as the smiles completely left Kumi's parents' faces. The Wild Rose, who was still asleep near the steps at the time, suddenly leaped up and ran frightened up the stairs; its tail and fur puffed up defensively and fearfully.

A shadow overcame Kumi's father's face as he stepped closer to Kumi and away from the bright sunlight of the streets.

"You don't have a choice." He said sternly. "We need you to become a Priestess. You have no other option."

"It's for the good of the family.." Kumi's mother attempted a kinder approach, but didn't calm Kumi's growing rage.

"For the good of the family? I am family!" Kumi yelled. "Have you ever thought about how I felt about all of this?"

"You had a chance to change your job before you became an Acolyte!" Kumi's mother seemed to give up on being nice.

Kumi paused to think for a moment then retaliated. "No! Because even then, I wasn't given a choice! I had no idea what an Acolyte was! You just helped me train and told me to become one!"

"You're saying you'd rather become a Monk?!" Her mother covered her mouth in horror.

Kumi stood up straight.

"And what if I am?" she said coyly. Her father grabbed her by the wrist and held her firmly. Alarmed, Kumi squirmed until he put his face up to her own. Their eyes glared at each other, and it wasn't until then did Kumi notice how different she was from her parents. Her jagged shaped pupil was an alarming difference in comparison to her parents' normal eyes. It wasn't until then did she finally remember that she was adopted; She WASN'T family. Then, what was she to them? She wondered.

"The King doesn't give money to MONKS." Her father said angrily. "The King pays the Runeshires a LOT of zenny just to protect the city in the Priests of Prontera guild. Are you saying that you'd rather these innocent people die for your selfishness?!"

"I never said that!" Kumi yelled in desperation. Her strong will started to shatter as the people who raised and cared for her turned into monsters before her eyes.

"No! That is what you're saying, if you're refusing to become a Priestess!" her mother stepped in, her hand still over her mouth in an almost petite poise (as if that poise fooled Kumi anymore) "Have you forgotten all that we've done for you? If it weren't for us, you'd still be nothing but a homeless dirty little girl wandering around the Culverts somewhere!"

"SHUT UP!!" Kumi screamed, yanking her wrist free of her father's strong grip. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!!!"

Instinctively, Kumi's right hand clenched into a strong fist. Sparks danced around her knuckles and her hand started to glow. Realizing what was happening, she covered the glowing fist with her other hand and unclenched her fist. To her surprise, her parents were undaunted.

"We know about your power, Kumi." her father spoke. Kumi's shoulders twitched.

"W…When? How long have you…"

"Since the attack in Payon cave. We were the first ones to read the paper. After that, we asked the King and Father Damien to dispose of every copy that they came across."

An alarmingly large stack of old newspapers sat in a room in Kumi's house; all of them read _"A Monk To The Rescue? No! An Acolyte!" _on the front page. Kumi's parents had bought every single copy being sold in Prontera.

"We know that fate wants to lead you down the road of a Monk," Kumi's mother began, her voice almost trembling with fear and anxiety. "But if we forced you to become a Priestess, that ability will be erased!"

"No…" Kumi stepped back. "..I don't want it to be erased…I like my new ability! I don't want to change for anybody's else's sake but my own!"

"We need the money, Kumi! If you don't become a Priestess, we will live in poverty!"

"Then I'll be the poorest happiest Monk in all of Prontera!!!"

Kumi ran out the back door of her house as fast as she could. Her father ran to the door and yelled,

"You can run away, but you can't escape! Members of PoP are guarding every Kafra and gate leading out!"

His voice faded out as Kumi ran around the town desperately looking for a way out. She came across a Priest with a warp portal. As she ran towards it, another Priest got in her way. A badge on his cloak had a symbol of a cross and the word "PoP" written on it. She averted her path and ran for the gates. More members of PoP stood in her way. Everywhere she looked, PoP blocked her path. She ran aimlessly into the crowd and bumped into another Priest. She clenched her fist, ready to Asura anyone in her way. The Priest grabbed her fist and held it tight. A nearby Bard and Dancer playing a song started walking towards both of them. Swirly purple lights surrounded them, and Kumi felt her power being drained. Her fist weakened, and she was suddenly unable to use her powers at all. The Priest grabbed Kumi's right arm and pulled it back behind her. He stood behind her and held a knife to her back.

"Now now," his familiar voice rang into Kumi's ears. "We shouldn't resort to such violence."

"Father Damon?!" Kumi struggled but could not get loose.

"Come now. Your friends are all waiting for you at the church. Time for you to become a Priestess." Father Damon turned to the Bard and Dancer at their sides. "Nice work with the Classical Pluck." they nodded to him and followed them to the church.

The two large doors to the church were open, for a change. They were propped wide for all to watch the Job Changing Ceremony. Families, friends, and even strangers came to watch the young Acolytes of only 16 begin their journey as God's healers. A loud organ welcomed Kumi and Father Damon into the church. Hundereds of people sat in the pews, kneeling and praying to their invisible savior; their whispers and voices filled the church, ascending towards the ceiling in murmured echoes.

Father Damon removed the knife away from Kumi's back and slipped it into his robe. Kumi shot him a sharp glare and he smiled and waved to the crowd of people around them.

"Using that fist of yours will hurt everyone in this church," he whispered into her ear. "It's best just to go along with things now."

Kumi looked around her and saw her parents sitting in the front row. They stared at her blankly for a few moments, then forced fake smiles on their faces to encourage her. It was like they were saying goodbye to old times, without even speaking.

The Acolytes sat upon white little chairs before the altar, talking amongst themselves in excitement. Ikari spotted her friend and ran up to her.

"I thought you didn't want to become a Priestess." she whispered into Kumi's ear and followed her back to sit in the row of white chairs. Kumi was silent for a few moments.

"It's all a lie…" Kumi murmured.

"What?"

"Everything. My parents, Father Damon, everything." she stared down at her feet as they dangled a few millimeters from the hard floor.

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't get out of here; there are too many people. And those two people who call themselves my parents are forcing me to change."

"Kumi?"

"If I change into a Priestess, my Asura Strike will be erased. …that thing I did back in Payon Cave…it'll be gone.."

"Isn't that a good thing? You'll finally be normal."

"Normality is overrated." Kumi's voice grew harsh. "Fitting in is overrated. Being like everyone else is overrated. For six long years, I've been trying to remember my childhood and who I really am. I have no idea what my real name is or why I was wearing bloodstained clothes at the age of 10."

Ikari's face went white. Kumi put her hand on Ikari's shoulder.

"This Asura Strike is another clue to my past. It is something no other Acolyte possesses. If it gets erased, so does a part of me."

"Then what are we gonna do?" Ikari asked, worried.

"I don't know…." Kumi removed her hand from Ikari's shoulder and sat up calmly. Ikari mimicked her friend and did the same.

"What's the plan?" Ikari whispered. "Are we gonna go around stabbing people in the jaws?"

"Wha-.."

"Good morning, citizens of Prontera!" Father Damon's booming voice interrupted Kumi.

"Good morning Father!" the people of Prontera responded in robotic unison.

"The Lord be with you all."

"And also with you."

"We lift up our hearts."

"We lift them up to the Lord…."

They continued chanting back in forth with automatic responses; Kumi sat and wondered how many people actually meant what they said.

Finally, Father Damon turned to the Acolytes and grinned. Turning back to the audience he announced proudly,

"Without further ado, let the Job Changing Ceremony begin!"

A roar of clapping filled the church and the Acolytes rose from their seats.

"Don't forget! Tomorrow at noon sharp, the new Priests and Priestesses are to come to the church to celebrate. I will personally get them started on their path to rebirth..."

One by one, the Acolytes kneeled before Father Damon. He gently placed his hand on their heads and, in a blinding light, they transformed into Priests and Priestesses before everyone's eyes. The former Acolytes bowed to the altar and walked away proudly.

The line got shorter and shorter until Ikari and Kumi were the only ones left. Ikari slowly walked towards Father Damien and turned to Kumi. A worried look was on her face. Kumi smiled and gestured her to go on.

"Just because I don't want to be Priestess, doesn't mean _you_ have to do the same. This is your dream Ikari. Don't worry about me just yet."

Father Damon placed his hand on Ikari's head and whispered a prayer. A blinding light surrounded Ikari and engulfed her entire body. When the light dimmed and disappeared, Ikari emerged dressed in a long beautiful purple dress and high heels. (lawl free clothes?) Her parents, (whom haven't been mentioned until now), stood up from the crowd. Their resembled Ikari almost precisely, and threw their hands in the air.

"YATTA!!" They yelled. The crowd looked at them strangely. Ikari blushed and ran to their sides. Her excitement stopped when the crowd hushed to watch the last Acolyte job change: Kumi. Nervousness overcame Ikari as she watched her friend kneel before Father Damon without any sort of struggle or anything to say.

Kumi seemed to take the longest. Father Damon seemed to take his time chanting his prayer over her head; she wondered if it was just her paranoia, or if he was doing that to make Job Changing all the more painful. Before he could finish his prayer, Kumi stood up. Father Damon and her parents looked at her warily. The crowd whispered to each other.

"I'd like to say something before Job Changing….if that's ok." She looked Father Damon in the eyes. A cold sweat overcame the Father's forehead. He took out a small cloth to wipe his forehead.

"Of course, child." he said, as politely as he could under the pressure.

Kumi turned to her parents and smiled. They gave her a threatening look.

"I'd like to say one word."

"One word?"

The church fell silent. Pigeons were perched on the outer ledge of the church walls. A soft step near them on the wall sent them flying away in a hurry, their wings fluttering quickly in the wind. A small tap was heard on the large glass window over the altar. But no one heard this…

"What is this…word that you'd like to say, Kumi?" Father Damien asked, his patience growing thin. Kumi's parents stirred uneasily in their seats.

"Kairel." she said, smiling.

"Ka-…" Father Damon's voice was cut off by a crash that shattered glass from the window above the altar. The pattern of a cross on the stained glass window crumbled and fell upon Father Damon like acid rain. He shielded himself with his arms as the crowd screamed and began to panic. Kumi's parents stood up, startled.

"Kumi!" Ikari cried. Her parents pulled her close as the glass bounced off the ground in her direction.

As the glass cleared, Kumi was swept up by an invisible arm around her stomach.

"Gah! WATCH IT YOU IDIOT!!" Kumi squirmed.

"Kumi!!" Ikari broke free from her parents' arms and went to her friend's side. PoP Priests rushed in, flaming lights circled them. They closed in on the invisible figure and revealed him.

In a flash of blue, he scooped Ikari up in his arms and ran at blinding speeds towards the door. Ikari yelled back,

"Bye mom and dad! I'm goin on an adventure!!"

"Oh, our little girl is all grown up!" Ikari's mother cried.

"She'll be a great traveling Priestess!" her father exclaimed.

Kairel sped down the street past the Merchants and Blacksmiths. He hopped over Homunculi and cut around corners. He leaped from rooftop to rooftop, ducking behind every building and statue. Sleep arrows sailed past Kairel's face, and he dodged every one of them with ease.

Coming to an alley, he hopped off one wall with one foot and did the same with the other. He jumped up and landed on a slanted roof. After regaining his balance, he jumped from rooftop to rooftop towards the southern gate.

"Hey..!" He yelled between labored breaths. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Anything is better than losing a part of myself!" Kumi yelled back.

"And you'd be willing to help me find my sister?"

"Eh, I suppose. Got nothing better to do."

"Hey!!"

"I'm so glad you guys took me!!" Ikari said, drinking in the excitement.

"Well, we do need a heal slave…" Kumi muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Hundreds of guards lined up and blocked the southern exit. Kairel stopped in his tracks.

"We have you surrounded!" a Crusader carrying a long spear called out to them.

Kairel glanced over his shoulder and saw another long line of guards.

"Just put the girls down and we can take you in peacefully!"

Kairel paused and looked at Kumi. He released her and Ikari and watched as Kumi stood firmly on a rooftop, peering down at them.

"GET THE FUCK OUT!!" She yelled. Sprinting at full speed, she leaped off the roof and raised her fist in the air. Sparks engulfed her body and a glowing light surrounded her fist.

"ASURA STRIKE!!"

Her punch flew straight into the Crusader's armor, sending him flying back against his soldiers so hard that they collided with the southern wall and tore it open. The guards behind Kairel hollered in fear and ran for their lives.

They breached through the exit and ran for the fields. What started out as panic turned into laughter. They didn't know exactly why, but they found themselves laughing as they ran faster and faster towards the barren desert. The sky was blue and the clouds were pure white. It was as if nothing had really happened at all; like it were any other ordinary day. People walked past them without even knowing why they were running. In the eyes of a bystander, they were just three friends having a good time. But in Kumi's heart, she was finally free.


	5. Goodbye

-1_KumiAsura_

By: Kiira Kisa

File 5: Goodbye

Father Damon sat happily at the head of a long dining table. Foods of every sort lay across the table in tempting awe. The Priests and Priestesses whom had Job Changed the previous day were enjoying the food while chatting and laughing joyously. Father Damon smiled and rose from his seat.

"Ah, had Kumi and Ikari been here, all 13 of these chairs would be filled." he paused to look at the smiling faces of his loyal students. "But thank you children. Your purpose in life will soon be fulfilled…let us rejoice in the celebration of the Lord's will."

The Priests and Priestesses all cheered and clapped their hands. Father Damon sat down and smiled. He was glad that their efforts and lives would not go to waste…

Kairel adjusted the chairs, straightening them perfectly with the utmost paranoia. He smoothed every crease on the bed and flattened the rolls out of the long rug he was standing on. He blew the dust off the oak table and turned on a ceiling fan. All the while, Kumi and Ikari stood in wonder…what the hell was he doing?

"Holy fuck, Martha Stewart." Kumi stepped into the room, impatient. "It's just the same fucking room I was kidnapped in before. I honestly don't care about dust or wrinkles on the bed."

"BUT I WANT EVERYTHING TO BE PERFECT!!!" Kairel whined. "Afterall, you're now temporary members of Serus Victoria!"

"Do we have to do some weird-ass initiation thingy?" Ikari asked nervously.

"Nope nope!" Kairel replied happily. "Although there was that one time that Semeru told me to bend over and he had a paddle in his hand and I asked him 'oo are we going kayaking?!' and he was like 'sort-of' then…"

As Kairel rambled on and on about a strange story involving a blindfold and handcuffs, Semeru burst through the door, outraged and furious. Kairel snapped to attention and yelled,

"WHAT GOES ON IN JAWAII, STAYS IN JAWAII!!"

"What the hell are _they_ doing here?" Semeru asked, keeping his voice as calm as possible. Kumi glared at him from across the room, signifying that it wasn't working.

"We're new recruits, apparently." Kumi said casually as she picked a piece of chocolate sitting in a tin can on the desk and ate it. Semeru shot Kairel a sharp glare and motioned for him to follow. Kairel made a whimpering noise and followed Semeru around the corner.

Semeru seemed to pause, giving Kairel time to explain himself. Kairel gulped.

"I thought you'd be happy that our guild would get bigger." Kairel said, trying his best to avoid his friend's cold stare. "Afterall, Kumi is very strong and Ikari is a highly skilled Priestess. They could both really help in Wo.."

"That's not why I'm angry, Kairel." Semeru seemed to calm down a bit compared to a few moments earlier. "I found _this_ near the walls of Izlude." Semeru reached into his pocked and roughly took out a white crumpled piece of paper and handed it to Kairel. Kairel took it and opened it slowly. Upon the crumpled paper was a picture of Kumi with large printed letters saying "MISSING" on the top. Kairel scanned the picture and saw in even bigger letters: "120 million zenny reward" signed by members of PoP and Kumi's parents. Kairel slowly lowered the paper and met the look on Semeru's face, which had changed from angry to concerned.

"It's not that I don't want this guild to grow," Semeru began. "If anything, Kumi and Ikari are both very welcome here. BUT, not with THIS going on." He paused for a moment. "Why is Kumi wanted? What exactly did you do, Kairel?"

"Well…I sorta…re-kidnapped her." Kairel stared at the floor.

"You…re-kidnapped her?"

"Yeah. Only this time……like….everyone knows…" Kairel laughed nervously.

"Do you have any idea the kind of attention this brings to our guild? We already have a bad enough reputation as it is being small and without any well-known warriors (besides myself). We don't need to be getting into any unnecessary trouble.."

"But…"

"We'll eventually be found by high ranking officers of PoP." Semeru began to pace slowly. "Or worse; we could be found out by one of the big guilds out there. They're all pretty greedy you know. 120 million zenny is a lot!"

"I had nowhere else to go!" Kairel whined. "Besides. She needed to get away from that place and I was her only hope. She's agreed to help me look for my sister too so…"

"Kairel. It's been 6 years. There's no way that a girl that young could've survived that sort of incident…"

Kairel's face cringed for a moment out of what seemed like an extremely painful memory. He stayed silent for a very long time, not saying a single word or moving at all. Semeru sighed and put his hand on Kairel's shoulder.

"Ok, look. They can stay for a few days but…for the good of the guild, you're going to have to go elsewhere eventually." Semeru said. "I'm sorry."

Kairel nodded and returned to the room.

"What's going on?" Ikari asked as she and Kumi devoured the pieces of chocolates.

"We only have a few days to be here.." a serious look overcame Kairel's face. "As you can probably guess…people are looking for you, Kumi."

"Woot?" Kumi said sarcastically.

"There are probably hundreds of people looking for you…"

"Hundreds? How can there be that many…"

Kairel shoved the wanted paper in her face. The 120 million zenny reward text went in front of her eyes and covered her vision. She roughly pulled the paper away and stared at it. She was horrified.

"Ew. That photo makes me look fat." she said in disgust.

"Look at all those zeros….kanzo kari." (wild goose liver) Ikari exclaimed.

"Eh?" Kairel tilted his head. Kumi sighed.

"So what if a few greedy idiots come after us? I'll just Asura their asses and they'll be done with."

"It's more than just a few people," Kairel pointed out. "The entire PoP guild is looking for you, plus knowing your family's connection to the King, there will probably be even more reinforcements on their way."

"Yeah, and what if Monks come after us and stuff?" Ikari asked.

"So what? I'll Asura them too. I'm probably stronger anyway." Kumi boasted.

"There's more to being a Monk than just Asura, you know." Kairel said, rubbing his head. "But that's beside the point. Semeru-sama doesn't want us to bring too much trouble to the guild. We'll just have to keep moving after we get supplies from here."

Kumi sighed. She shot Kairel an awkward glance.

"So your brain is suddenly working?"

"I HAS AN ELIVATER" Kairel had disappeared from the doorway. Kumi and Ikari turned around and found him jumping up and down on the bed, messing up the sheets he had taken so much time to perfect.

"Forget I ever said that."

Steps were heard through the hallway, rushing. Labored breaths echoed off the stone walls. The figure stopped abruptly as she reached the light of the room up ahead.

Seito burst through the doorway (the door is apparently non-existent), trying to catch her breath. A look of terror was upon her pale face as her eyes met Kairel's.

"W-where's Semeru-sama?" she asked, frantic.

Kairel quickly scrambled for a reply as he hopped off the bed and landed roughly on his feet.

"Erm…I dunno! Why? What's going on?"

Seito paused to catch her breath.

"It's Prontera..!" she cried. "It's under attack!"

"What?!" Kairel, Kumi, and Ikari said, alarmed.

"Is it a DB summoned monster?" Kairel asked.

"No…" Seito regained her composure but her expression was still the same. "…no Dead Branch can summon _those_ monsters…"

"What monsters?" Kumi asked. Despite her desperate flee from the town she had grown to hate, anxiety had overcome her. _'What do I care?' _she wondered. _'There's nothing left in that town that I should give a damn about. Still…"_

"Miso??!?!!" (bean paste) Ikari screamed.

Everyone looked at her for a few moments, then averted their attention back to Seito.

"These monsters are the strongest I've ever seen.." Seito began. "…from the Ice Caves of Rachel, to the fiery volcano of Thor in Veins…" a cold sweat dripped down her face. "11 of the strongest monsters in all of Rune-Midgard are attacking Prontera! We must do something!"

"You mean…fight…? Kaeru?" (frog) Ikari asked, worriedly.

"Then again…there's no way we would be able to win…" Seito said, gravely.

"But we can't just sit here…" Kairel muttered.

Kumi growled and started running. She shoved Kairel out of the way and dodged past Seito. She ran hard down the hallway, not giving anything a second thought.

"Kumi!" Ikari cried. She sped towards her friend. Kairel disappeared from the room in the blink of an eye. With blinding speed, he sprinted in front of her and grabbed her.

"Kumi! Think about what you're doing!" Kairel shouted. "Seito said that there are 11 of those monsters there! Even with your Asura, there would be no way…"

"MOM AND DAD ARE OVER THERE!!!" Kumi cried. "YOU GUYS CAN SIT HERE AND BE DUMBASSES AS USUAL, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO STAND IDLE AS THIS HAPPENS!"

She elbowed Kairel in the stomach. He buckled down as she rushed past him out the front gate of the castle.

"Gah.." Kairel coughed and gripped his stomach. "Why does she hate me?!" he cried, tears streaming down his face.

"Kumi!! Wait!!" Ikari panicked.

"You go after her." Kairel stood up straight and rubbed his belly, cringing a bit. "I'll find Semeru-sama and round up the other guild mates."

Ikari nodded. They both departed in opposite directions; Kairel descended into the darkness of the castle hallways, while Ikari followed the torch-lit walls towards her distressed friend.

Kumi's feet touched the desert's sands as she left the castle. She looked around desperately. She wasn't sure why she was pausing; she knew clearly what she had to do. Within those few moments, she found herself wondering why she was doing this all; after finally fleeing from that dreaded city, she was now longing to return.

Ikari's footsteps were heard from behind. She stumbled clumsily upon the sand and caught her balance upon Kumi's shoulder.

"Don't try to stop me Ikari!" Kumi yelled.

"I'm not!" Ikari regained her balance. "I'm coming with you!"

"It's too dangerous Ikari! I don't want you to get hurt!"

"Have you already forgotten? My parents are there too! Prontera is my home!" Kumi looked at her friend, who was more distraught than she had let on. "Kairel is getting reinforcements; you don't have to do this alone!"

Kumi paused. "Ok then…" she took a deep breath. "Prepare a warp…"

"Don't forget about us!" Kairel appeared behind Ikari. Semeru, Seito, and Seph were at his side. Kumi blinked.

"Wow, 5 people? Is this all that Serus Victoria has to offer?"

"Quit your whining!" Semeru snapped. "There are more members already on their way to Prontera. You should be glad that we're even giving a damn."

"Man." Seph sighed. "We could just turn her in and be filthy stinking rich, you know."

"You shouldn't say such things." Seito muttered quietly.

"Ugh…good enough." Kumi sighed and turned to Ikari.

"Now warp us….to Prontera."

Ikari took out a yellow gemstone and placed it on the ground. She threw her hands in the air and a portal appeared at her feet. The portal's light shone brightly under the desert sun; within it, Kumi could see what was waiting for her on the other side. She curled the fingers on her right hand up, touching the edge of the metal chain bracelet around her wrist; as if looking for an invisible form of unseen comfort. She stepped into the portal's light and disappeared; the others followed solemnly, not knowing whether they'd ever return to see those same desert sands again.

What lay before them was nothing less than horrible. Smoke filled the skies and blocked out the sun. Millions of screams were heard, their cries answered only by more bloodshed. Buildings collapsed upon themselves, hidden only by the debris of the once strong Prontera walls. The shadows of beasts were seen in the distance. Their mercy was unseen as they cast their horrid magic upon the town. The air itself brought no comfort, as it was filled with the scent of blood.

Kumi and the others stood frozen at the sight. Hundreds of people fled the town. Some barely escaping with their lives. The guards and warriors rushing towards the town seemed useless as their men crumbled before their eyes.

Kumi looked back to see the expression on her comrades' faces. Everyone look uneasy, but ready. They took out their weapons and held them close to their sides. As Kumi's eyes traced down the short line of her uneasy warriors, she stopped at Kairel. He had no weapons out at all. He stood frozen; his eyes open wide while his entire body trembled. She walked over to him and touched his arm. He twitched and stumbled, falling on his back. He sat up slowly, the same horrid look was upon his face.

"Kairel?" Semeru knelt down and put his hand on his shoulder. "Hey? Hey..!" He shook him but Kairel refused to stir.

_Semeru's voice was distant. Kairel heard nothing but the same familiar cries he had heard all those years ago. A flash of blood sent his body into a shuddering shock. He found himself a child; a mere weak child. He looked up past the blurriness of his surroundings; of townspeople fleeing and shoving past him. His eyes met the darkened sky, but the sky was blocked out by something…_

_…his eyes caught the sight of an orange blood-stained ribbon, dangling in the jaws of…_

A strong punch to his jaw sent him falling on his side. His shaking stopped. He slowly felt the small drop of blood on his cracked lip with his fingertips. He looked up and saw Kumi with her right hand gripped into a fist.

"If you were just going to sit here and cower," Kumi looked away, her eyes met the ruin of the town. "Then you should've stayed home. Get it together before I kick your ass."

"…home..?" Kairel muttered beneath his breath, as if the very word hadn't been spoken by him in ages. He shook his head and blinked hard. All of his friends were looking down on him in worry and wonder. He slowly rose and dusted himself off.

"S-sorry about that guys." he forced a smile and laughed nervously. "It's amazing what coffee can do to you, you know?" he placed both hands at his sides and pulled out two daggers.

"ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?" Kumi called back to them; she was already on her way towards the town.

"W-wait!" Ikari put her hand in the air. "Kyrie Eleison!" A transparent shield consisting of many 6-sided hexagons surrounded everyone's bodies. "Increase Agility! Blessing!" Everyone's speed and strength increased. They readied their weapons and charged towards the town.

A loud crash welcomed their arrival. Kumi looked up and the sun glistened off a large scythe that was dug into the ground. An enormous goat with curled horns and glowing red eyes let out a terrible cry as it picked up its scythe and sliced into the buildings around it. Kumi trembled for a moment…then remembered why she was there.

"ASURA STRIKE !!" She charged the Baphomet and leaped into the air. She wailed her fist into its side and it fell over onto its back. Its crashed caused the whole ground to tremble.

"Did you kill it?!" Ikari asked, clinging to her friend's side.

"I think so…" Kumi poked at it with her mace. It didn't move. "Ha…stupid goat. Should go back to the…"

As she spoke, the Baphomet slowly rose; its shadow overlapped the sun. It let out that same terrible cry and rose its scythe over Kumi's head.

"…petting…zoo…" Kumi muttered. Kumi and Ikari jumped out of the way as the Baphomet sliced into the ground. Seph rode forward on his Peco Peco, spear ready in hand. Suddenly, hundreds of smaller goats appeared from the ground. They charged Seph as he attacked.

"Bowling Bash !!" Seph yelled. He pierced his spear into the Baphomet's leg. The impact sent the smaller goats flying back, landing in front of the others. Semeru and Seito ran forward with their daggers towards the smaller goats. Semeru switched his daggers to two long Jurs and pierced a Baphomet Jr. in the chest.

"Sonic Blow !!" he removed the jur and sliced at the Baphomet Jr. in all directions as a glowing Japanese symbol appeared before their deaths. Seito dashed in from behind the Baphomet Jr's, thrusting her dagger into their backs.

"Backstab !!" she drew her dagger out from behind them as they fell over, dead.

"I kinda feel bad!" Ikari yelled, clubbing the Baphomet Jr's over their heads with her small wooden rod. "They're kinda cute!" She cracked open a Baphomet Jr's skull open.

"NOT NOW, IKARI!" Kumi rushed at the Baphomet with her mace, barely dodging its blows. Kairel did the same, but found himself tripping over his own feet, missing every strike he made.

"KAIREL!" Kumi yelled. "STOP BEING AN IDIOT!"

"BUT IT'S HAAARD!!!!" Kairel whined.

"Fine!" Kumi threw her Mace down and clenched her hand into a fist. "I'll just use another Asura on this damn goat and…"

"BUT BUT BUT!!!" Kairel cried, dodging every blow by falling on his face over and over. "YOU CAN'T USE ASURA MORE THAN ONCE!"

"SAY WHAT?!"

"Monks use up most of their magic with just one Asura! You'd have to regain your magic first, then use it again!"

"WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER!?!?"

"CHEESEPUFF!!!!"

"AARGH! YOU PIECE OF…"

A blast from behind them sent Kumi and Kairel flying back towards the others. Everyone stopped what they were doing; the smoke from the blast covered the entire area. A loud thud was heard, and amidst the smoke lay the body of the once powerful Baphomet.

Kumi coughed and looked up. A tall figure with short spiky green hair stood before her. He wore a long white robe with a large gold plated belt around his waist. The upper-half of his robe was red, with armlets on his arms in the pattern of flames. Upon his knuckles were bits of metal in the shape of spikes, bloodied from the battles they had seen. All this contrasted with the playful smile on the boy's face….and the black cat doll upon his head.

"Who…" Kumi stood as the smoke rose. "…the hell are you?"

"It is I, Pei Long. At your service." He smiled made a peace sign with his fingers.

"Pei..?" Kairel hopped forward, his face covered in dirt. "PEEEEIIIIIII!!!!"

"KAISAAAIIIIIII!!!!!!" Pei and Kairel ran towards each other and collided with a playful glomp. Semeru stepped forward, dusting himself off.

"It's about time you got here, Pei." Semeru said, sighing. "I PM'd you an hour ago."

"I was already here," Pei said, laughing. "You guys are so slow. I already killed 7 of them. 8, including this one." He tapped the dead Baphomet with his finger.

"You always beat us to the action, Pei." Kairel whined.

"Hold on a minute!" Kumi shoved past Kairel. "That was our kill!"

Pei knelt over and picked up a pair of large goat horns by the name of Majestic Goat.

"I'll be taking these! Now to put these in storage and get the rest!" he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pink piece of paper with the words "Kafra service" on them. He ripped it in half and the Majestic Goat disappeared.

"Hold on a minute! How could you have possibly killed that many monsters single-handedly?" Kumi asked.

Pei clenched his hands into fists and lightning sparked off his knuckles. He stomped his foot on the ground and his entire body began to glow. Kumi had seen this all before; it was all too familiar. Pei was a Monk. No, stronger than a Monk. He was a Champion - the extended class of a Monk. Only one with a years of experience and a true heart reaches that level. For once, Kumi felt humbled by someone's presence. Her smart remarks fell silent in that instant.

"They don't call me the strongest fist in all of Rune-Midgard for nothing." Pei leaped over the carcass of the Baphomet and towards the darker depths of the city. He just kept on smiling; he feared no beast before him.

"Damn that Pei." Seph kicked at the dead Baphomet as it slowly faded and disappeared. "Now he'll get all the action and we'll get all the grunt work."

"I have to find mom and dad…" Kumi said. "Pei can do whatever he wants. Just as long as I can make sure that they're safe."

"After what they did to you, Kumi?" Kairel asked.

"They're both bastards for what they did to me…" Kumi muttered. "…but they're still my parents. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be what I am today. They saved my life once; now I must return the favor." she leaped off and sprinted in the direction of the Church, hoping that survivors of PoP had taken refuge in a safe place…

The others stood silent for a moment. Then Kairel sighed.

"So dramatic." he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah I know." -Saito.

"Totally." -Seph.

"What was she thinking?" -Semeru.

"I could've thought of a better line." -Ikari.

Kumi's quick pace slowed when she arrived closer to the church. Blood trailed the cobblestone streets leading towards the church. The strongest scent of blood came from the direction of the church as Kumi's eyes beheld the once pure walls ripped open from the ground. Amidst the wreckage, Father Damon stood; his back faced Kumi.

"Father Damon?" she ran towards him, ignoring the scent of blood that seemed to come from Father Damon's direction. It got stronger and stronger but Kumi continued to ignore it.

She ran down the same halls that she once did when she was just a child. The floors were clean and smelled of fresh potpourri. The children were laughing and playing then, and Ikari would cling onto her side as usual. But those days were long gone.

"Kumi!" Kairel's voice called to her from behind. Kumi spun around and saw her friends running towards her. Before she could respond, a large purple scaly tail swiped down from above and blocked their paths. A large dragon reared its head to the skies; its body covered in long blood-red scales that protruded from its skin. Its head was large with two purple horns and one green horn protecting its forehead. It swiped down its giant claws at the others with great speed. Kairel, Semeru, and Ikari quickly got out of its way. But Seph and Seito let out a cry as they were flung backwards from the claw's impact. Ikari quickly ran to their sides to heal them, but fire sprang forth from the great dragon's mouth.

"Ikari!!!" Kumi yelled. She began to run after them, but heard Ikari's voice cry out from beneath the oncoming Fire Ball.

"Kyrie Eleison !!" A giant shield was cast upon everyone and the fire clashed with the shield was extinguished. The dragon roared and continued fire Fire Balls at them.

"ASURA STRIKE !!" Pei appeared from the wreckage of the remains of the city and punched the dragon with all his might. It flew back into the Prontera fountain smashing its proud statue to the ground; its blood replaced the once clean and clear water.

"Whew." He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I can't believe even the great Detardeurus of the Abyss is here. I've never had this much fun!" He grinned widely and looked back at the others. But his wide grin soon disappeared when a burst of fire and ice came flying towards them. Pei opened his fist and thrust his palm forward.

"Raging Palm Thrust !!" His palms clashed with the fire and ice and sent them flying back. Two giant salamanders appeared; one of fire and one of ice. The one of fire was engulfed in flames as it slithered towards the others. The one of ice was covered in ice-like scales as it charged the shield surrounding them.

Pei closed his eyes and 5 blue orbs appeared and circled his body. His grin returned as the others joined his side.

"Ktullanux and Ifrit?" he said. "It just gets better and better."

"Kumi!" Kairel called over to her. "What are you waiting for?!"

"But…you're all idiots!!"

"Go find your parents! We'll hold them off!!"

Kumi hesitated, grimaced, and continued down the church hall.

Father Damon stood silently as Kumi entered what used to be the main corridor of the church.

"Father Damon…?" her hand neared his shoulder but he spun around and grabbed her by the neck.

"How good of you to return, child." a sinister look possessed his face. The usual light that was within his eyes was gone. He lifted Kumi up by the neck as she struggled within his grip.

"What…" she choked. "…the hell are you doing? I'm trying to save your ass!"

"Because of you and Ikari's escape…I was 2 less than what I would have had…" he sneered.

"What are you…talking about?"

Father Damon threw her down and turned her to face towards a room to her right. She squinted through his grip and saw the Priests and Priestesses whom had Job Changed the previous day, all of them motionless upon their chairs at a long dining table. Their food was rotten and teeming with a purple glow…

Kumi threw him off and rose to her feet.

"What…" her look of awe turned quickly into rage. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO THEM?!"

"It would've been so much better had there been 13 sacrifices instead of only 11..." he laughed maniacally. "But I suppose 11 still gets the job done."

"Sacrifices?!" Kumi thought for a moment then soon realized… "11..? Wait a minute….you mean.."

"You always were my slowest student." he mocked. "I'm sure the real Father Damon would have given a slight damn about you…but he's been dead for 6 years now…" He paused to see the horrified look on Kumi's face. He grinned. "You see, I wanted to recreate the Morroc disaster…"

"What…disaster?"

"Oh that's right. You were too young and ignorant to understand. Morroc was ravaged by the powerful demon, Satan Morroc. Its rage and power was unmatched by all. Satan Morroc's strength is equal to 13 of the strongest monsters in all the land…and yet I fell short when you and that annoying girl left the church before I could complete the ceremony."

"You killed them….." Kumi's hands began to tremble with both fear and anger. "…You killed those innocent kids so you could summon Satan Morroc?! But why?!"

"I hate this land…this planet…" he said, a shadow cast over his face. "…I watched how the ignorant Priest, Father Damon, went about preaching his ways and I killed him to take his place. It was necessary to spread the message of Satan Morroc's second coming to the city that lives in ignorance: Prontera. It was necessary to start a new world…"

"You're not making any sense!" Kumi yelled. "But aside from that…" her fist glowed and her entire body was covered in sparks. "Where the hell are my parents? What did you do with them!?"

"Can you believe they actually begged to spare you…?" he began. "Can you believe they actually pleaded innocent, even after unknowingly helping me themselves? To think they gave it all up just to look for you; all the money they had in the world just to find you and tell you to stay away. But here you are…going against their word again."

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY?!!" Kumi threw her fist into his face, sending him flying back towards the cemetery behind the church. He stumbled over a gravestone as Kumi punched him again, sending him sprawling onto the ground roughly. "AND MR. AND MRS. RIHANNA?" she yelled. "WHERE ARE IKARI'S PARENTS?!"

"Those useless fools fled the town with a few hundred civilians…" he sneered angrily as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "I had no use for them."

Kumi breathed a small sigh of relief, but the scent of the sacrificed children's rotting bodies brought her back.

"Now….where are my parents?!" She demanded.

"Ku-mi…" a weak voice was heard from behind her. She turned around and saw her mother and father trapped beneath the crumbled columns of the church.

"Mom! Dad!" she cried, running to their side. She grasped onto the column over their bodies and used all her strength to move it, but she was too weak.

"Kumi…we were wrong…" her mother said weakly. "..we let greed…decide what was right…for you…"

"Don't talk mom…I'll get you two out of here and we can be a family again." She shoved as hard as she could at the column but still it didn't move.

"It is your life…to decide…you'll always be our beloved daughter…" Kumi's father stopped and coughed up a large amount of blood.

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP FOR A SECOND…DAMNIT!!" Kumi threw a punch into the column but it didn't budge. "Just shut up…so I can move this thing…and we can go back to being…"

A sharp pain pierced through her back and into her flesh. The pain was so intense that it numbed her completely. Kumi froze; not knowing what exactly had hit her. She slowly turned around and saw Father Damon behind her holding the knife that now protruded from her back. Her eyesight became blurry; the pain overwhelmed her and she felt her own blood trickle down her back. She heard two voices cry out, but only saw her world tip sideways as she blacked out.

A blinding flash of light enveloped her entire body. She felt herself rising towards the sky; she wondered what was going on. What had happened to the others? To her parents? To all of Prontera? Was it all pointless in the end? Suddenly, her body jolted and began descending back towards the earth..

With a giant gasp, she awoke. Bewildered, she sat up. Her hand touched the hilt of the knife that was once in her back upon the ground. She felt where the wound should have been in her back, but it was gone. Frantic, she rose to her feet and examined her surroundings. Father Damon lay over a gravestone, dead with the pages of the Holy Bible he carried around every day scattered about around his corpse. A Swordmace had cut into his chest…her father's Swordmace….and still remained upon his body. She looked back to her parents. They were no longer beneath the column, but leaned against what was left of the church walls. Her father's hand was in her mother's, while her mother held the charred remains of a yellow gemstone - the item used in Resurrections.

Kumi's parents had used the last of their strength to kill Father Damon…and Resurrect their beloved daughter from death.

Prontera was silent now. No Merchants, Alchemists, or Blacksmiths were selling their goods in the streets anymore. Slowly, people returned to the town and began repairs. It was a slow but sure effort to restore their former shining city. The only person who was somewhat happy was Pei, whom had killed every monster almost single-handedly. Of course, there wasn't anyone around to buy the treasures he collected from the monsters, so he painstakingly helped to rebuild the town. Ikari reunited with her parents and they spent the next few days together healing the wounded and repairing the town.

Kumi knelt down quietly in front of her parents' gravestones. For the first time in a long time, she was praying. Kumi slowly rose and faced Kairel and Ikari.

She didn't say a word, but the same thing went through everyone's minds.

"Kumi…" he began, but stopped, not knowing quite what to say.

Kumi turned to wipe something from her eyes…then looked up…and smiled.

"So. Where are we headed now?" she asked. Kairel and Ikari exchanged glances.

"But…isn't it a bit soon to be heading out now?" Ikari asked.

"Nah…if I stay here, I'll just become emo and start cutting my wrists or something." she chuckled a bit. "Besides…my parents would want me to be happy…"

"I suppose so…tsukemono.." (pickle) Ikari muttered.

"But I can't have this event follow me til the end of my days…I must live for them, but find myself in the process. From now on…my name is Kumi Asura."

A long pause ensued. Kairel and Ikari blinked and looked at each other.

"Oh my god Kumi, that was horrible." -Ikari.

"You're starting to make _me_ look creative." -Kairel.

"ASURA STRIKE !!" Kumi yelled.

A loud bang was heard in the land of Prontera, sending birds flying off in the distance towards the sun.


	6. Identity's Iris

-1Kumi Asura

By: Kiira Kisa

File 6: Identity's Iris

The soft hue of the sun shone brightly over the mist of the morning. Upon the treaded earth, the small town of Izlude sat silenty in the shadow of its destroyed sister town, Prontera. Izlude's roads were not as dirtied, nor as walked upon compared to Prontera. It still held a sort of lonesome feeling that seemed to linger in one's heart as they entered. Every once in a while, a few people would visit the town to get a quick warp from the Kafra lady that stood next to a lamp post near a solemn building. Sometimes, a stray Wild Rose would sniff around the waters that bordered the cliffs of Izlude, looking for a fish to stray in the shallows. The small town of Izlude was famous only for its Monster Arena; a place where people battled rooms filled with different types of monsters to test out their strength. Within this humble town filled with few Merchants, a lowly Hunter sat silent in the grass near a tall stone statue; the Bunny Headband on his head served as shade for the brown hair upon his head.

Arclyde stood, his tall stature cast a shadow from the sun as it slowly climbed higher in the sky. The dirty cloak he had worn in the deserts of Morroc was discarded now; he no longer needed to shield himself from the sun where he was now. In the very middle of the town, a single Blacksmith sat on the street and sighed. He wore an Orc Helm on his head; a strong maroon colored helmet with two curved white horns protruding on each side. His cart was filled with collectible items and a few decent equipment such as old bows and fire arrows, Coral Reef and Empty Bottles. As the Blacksmith spotted Arclyde, he stood and a look of excitement overcame him.

"Smack me!" He yelled. "Someone is actually here!" he walked up to Arclyde and showed him a very shiny and polished Hunter Bow. The Hunter's Bow glistened slightly in its golden orange hue and caught Arclyde's eye.

"Wait…did you say smack you?" Arclyde gave him an awkward glance and took a few steps back from the Blacksmith. "Sorry. I'm a Hunter, not an Assassin. And…I thought we were in Izlude, not a gay bar in Comodo."

"No no no!!" The Blacksmith waved his arms in the air, embarrassed. "I didn't mean it that way!" He covered his face in a few moments to collect himself in the midst of his embarrassment, then turned his attention back to the Hunter Bow in his hands.

"I have a very nice bow right here, sir!" said the Blacksmith. "The damage scale on this bow does about 125. It is the very best bow that Payon has to offer! So…are you interested?"

"Well, how much is it?" Arclyde asked. In the few seconds it took the Blacksmith to reply, the wheels in Arclyde's head were already turning.

"50,000 zenny." The Blacksmith replied. Arclyde shook his head.

"For that piece of junk? Haven't you heard about what happened to the market?"

"What do you mean? This is a good deal!"

"You're a queer in fear, so I'll help you." Arclyde put his arm around the Blacksmith, whom was glaring at him scornfully from the remark, and spoke in a hushed tone.

"There are NO Merchants selling anything right now. Ever since the attack on Prontera, everyone is too busy rebuilding to do any sales. Dead bodies are still being cleaned off the streets, you know."

"Yeah, I know that. How does that effect me?"

"How does that effect you? Well, think about it. All of the Merchants are out getting more supplies to sell once the town is rebuilt. They're going from town to town, buying equipment from the Weapon venders and reselling them for a cheaper price. But so many Merchants need more supplies, the towns can't supply them all."

"What do you mean?"

"The towns are out of stock! There are a lot of counterfeit weapons and items going around that are less-effective than the real ones!" Arclyde stopped to watch the Blacksmith's once enthusiastic expression turn into a worried one. "For instance, where did you purchase that Hunter Bow?"

"In Payon, of course."

"Ah, that's what I feared." Arclyde said grimly. "There are so many counterfeits going around that even the Weapon dealers can't tell the difference! Your Hunter Bow is probably a fake."

"What?!" The Blacksmith examined the bow and frowned. "How can I tell? What's the difference between a real Hunter Bow and a fake one?"

"Well, _you_ can't tell, my dear friend." Arclyde said casually. "Only those well-experienced with bows can tell the difference, like Archers; Dancers; Bards; Snipers; Rangers; some Rogues and Thieves; and…" he paused. "…Hunters."

The Blacksmith blinked. He glanced at Arclyde, then at the Hunter Bow in his hands. "You can tell me the difference between-…"

Before he could finish, Arclyde snatched the bow from the Blacksmith's hands and held it vertically so that he could aim it with his eyes. Its wooden arch bent slightly as he stretched the thin bowstring back for a few seconds, then lowered the bow.

"Yep. This one is definitely a fake." he said.

"What?! How? Why?"

"The bow string is approximately 0.5 centimeters too short, and the two bow sight points," he poked at two triangular shaped parts pointing forward in the middle of the bow. "are too far apart. Anyone using this bow will surely miss their target."

"Damnit. Well what should I do?"

"Tell ya what…" Arclyde said. "…since I'm the only one around that can tell the difference between a real bow and a fake one, I'll take this bow to Payon myself and find you a brand new one to sell; one that is real and works efficiently. That sound good?"

"Wait…" The Blacksmith rubbed his chin in suspicion. "How do I know if I can trust you?" he eyed Arclyde carefully.

Arclyde sighed and put two fingers in his mouth. He made a high pitched whistle and his brown falcon swooped down from the sky and landed on his gloved hand. Arclyde scratched the bird's head and smiled.

"I'll leave my falcon, Terrace, here with you as collateral. Sound fair?"

"Your very own falcon? Yeah, that seems fair."

Arclyde made a slight jolt with the arm that Terrace was on, causing it to get off. It flapped its wings quickly and landed on the Blacksmith's cart handle.

Arclyde took the bow in his hand and grasped it loosely. Terrace watched his master uneasily, its head pivoted in each direction in slight, quick little movements to get a better look at Arclyde. He cast it a quick glance and paused without saying a word. It was as if he was silently telling it to "wait".

"Ok! Well I'm off to Payon. I'll be back with a brand new, completely legal, authentic Hunter Bow for ya!!" Arclyde waved to the Blacksmith and walked up to the Kafra. He spoke with her shortly, handed her a small amount of zenny, and hopped into a portal made by the Kafra leading to Payon.

Time passed as the Blacksmith waited impatiently. He tapped his foot and constantly checked his watch for the time. He glanced nervously at Terrace, who fluttered its wings every now and then and yawned. Then, the Blacksmith saw something on the ground that he did not see before. It was a wooden block of wood in the shape of a rectangle. One side was depressed, and the opposite end of it had a small trigger underneath the piece of wood.

The Blacksmith blinked, then examined the odd object from afar. He glanced at Terrace, who twitched uneasily at the site of the object. Slowly, the Blacksmith walked up to the piece of wood and gently tapped the depressed piece of wood with the tip of his foot, causing it to make a gentle snapping noise that sprung the top piece forward. Alarmed, the Blacksmith jumped back, but nothing happened. Instead, a piece of paper popped out from a hidden compartment in the trap and fluttered softly towards the ground. The Blacksmith grabbed it in midair and saw a message upon it.

"A Talkie Box message..?" he said thoughtfully. He froze after reading the message:

_"Owned._

_Signed, The Hunter"_

"WHAT?!" The Blacksmith yelled. "THAT DIRTY BASTARD!!" Then he looked at Terrace. "But he even gave me his bir-…"

Terrace made a high screech, flapped its wings, and flew away. It hadn't even occurred to him that the bird would fly away. The Blacksmith stood blinking for a few minutes, watching Terrace fly south in the direction of Payon.

"………oh damnit." he said, sulking.

Arclyde laughed and tossed the bow in the air, catching it playfully.

"I can't believe he fell for that. Sometimes, I think I should've been a Rogue instead of a Hunter." he grinned and tied his brand new Hunter Bow to his back. A tall dark shadow cast over him and made Arclyde freeze under the tall pine tree he was standing under. He looked down and saw a black shiny shoe. He traced it up and saw a tall man dressed in a nice, clean, black suit. Sunglasses hid the man's stone cold face, devoid of emotion. A black earpiece traced from inside the man's ear and went inside of his coat. Arclyde was overcome with a sudden fear, but could not resist a good joke.

"Sarah Connor isn't here right now." Arclyde said, pulling off a sly smile. The man made no reaction to the joke. "Or is this the part where you multiply and try to kill Neo?" The man remained still, unmoved by Arclyde's petty jokes.

"You can't run forever." he said in a cold voice that seemed deprived of feeling. "You're going to have to come with me, young master."

"I don't think so…." Arclyde quickly reached down and pulled a string that was hidden in the tall blades of grass on the ground. Numerous round metal traps appeared in the form of a half-circle surrounding Arclyde. He closed his eyes and several bright and blinding flashes set off in a white light that made the man in black cover his eyes in pain.

"Gah! I can't see!" the man yelled. Arclyde quickly lay a set of Ankle Snares around the man in a circle, bordered by Landmines hidden in the grass. He sprinted away towards the entrance of Payon. Behind him, yells of pain echoed through the dense forest. Arclyde quickly found a group of people near the Kafra and Tool Merchant. He ducked down in the crowd and hid. He looked through the legs of the people around him and saw more men in black storm the town. He nervously looked at the Kafra; he needed a warp out of town quickly but he could not afford to stand out from the crowd. A screech was heard and he looked to the sky. Terrace circled over his master in the crowd, keepings its keen eyes upon him. Arclyde started to panic; Terrace had given away his location on accident. The men spotted Terrace flying overhead and ran towards him. Then, Arclyde spotted a Priest casting a warp on the ground for a young Novice. He rose, lifting his arm in the air so that Terrace could land upon it. He sprinted towards the warp portal and shoved the Novice aside. He looked back briefly and saw the men pull guns from inside their jackets.

"Gah!" he quickly hopped into the portal and disappeared. The men growled in anger. One of them grabbed the Priest angrily. The crowd gasped.

"Where did that portal lead to?!" he yelled into the Priest's face.

"I…I dunno!" the Priest cried. "It was random because I wanted to teleport the Novice to an area with hard monsters so he could leave me alone!!!!"

"WTF NUB?!!" The Novice yelled in a strange language hear only amongst most other Novices. "GET OFF TEH INTARWEBZ!!!111!!!!" He began throwing jellopies at the Priest's head.

The men released the Priest and scuffed away. They had lost their target once again.

A short figure scurried through the tall grass fields of Mt. Mjolnir. The giant flowers towered overhead, creating a darkened shadow over anyone who passed under them. Honeycombs hung overhead, swinging ever so gently, filled with the sound of thousands of buzzing bees. Stray sticks and twigs protruded from the earth and bushes; the figure's ragged hood caught on the twigs and held it back for a few seconds. The figure twitched and yanked free, then continued on its path. The figure seemed to wander aimlessly; it would stop every so often to crouch down and cover its face, a gentle sobbing could be heard from under the hood that covered its face. Then, a few moments later would pass, and the figure would rise and continue to walk on through the dense grass.

It came upon a small fire site; a camp that it had clearly set up itself. The sparks from the flames scared the figure not, as it picked up a stick that had stabbed through cooked red mushrooms. It blew at the smoke for a few moments, then nibbled at it quietly. Small squirrels called Cocos leaped from branch to branch around it. They sniffed at the ground and twitched their large puffy tails while collecting the acorns that fell from the tall trees. The figure seemed used to their presence, and only continued to nibble on the mushroom while they ran around it with curiosity.

The Cocos stood up suddenly, their ears perked up in the air and their bodies frozen. Their tails stopped twitching, and they dropped the acorns that they had painstakingly collected. A few of them made a low chittering noise and ran off away from the figure. The figure nibbled off the rest of the mushroom and placed the stick down. It looked around for a few moments in wonder; the forest had fallen completely silent. Then, a faint noise could be heard echoing off the trees. The figure looked around cautiously. It took out a short dull dagger from its side and held it close.

The noise became louder and more clear. It went from inaudible to a rough breathing. The breathing was filtered; as if through a mask. The figure stood its ground, the fire it had made to cook her mushroom still flickered upon the burnt ground. The breathing became louder, and was now followed by heavy and slow footsteps. The sound of metal dragging upon the ground was heard then, and the figure holding the dagger began to tremble.

All was then silent. The noises had stopped. The figure did not move, only looked around itself in every direction with great fear in its heart. Suddenly, a huffed breath was made behind it. The figure turned around and saw something it had never seen before; A tall man dressed in a red coat with red pants stood behind her, a large bloody axe held over its head. Its face was hidden by goggles and an old dusty gasmask. Its head was covered by a thick, hard, red helmet. It held a strange looking gun in its left hand; a tube was connected to the gun and led to a barrel that was strapped on its back.

The man swung its axe down upon the figure with full force. The figure quickly shielded the blow with its dagger. With a cloud clang, the dagger flew out of its hands, its blade stabbed into the ground a few feet away from the figure. Without time to waste, it ran from the man in panic. The man's slow footsteps turned into fast ones; its steady breaths got deeper and louder as it chased the figure through the fields.

The twigs that had stopped the figure once before, now caused it to stop and fall flat on its tiny body. It rolled to the side as the man slashed its axe down into the ground. The figure scrambled to its feet as the twigs kept the cloak that hid its timid body. Now only a thin hood hid its face and chest. From the waist down, the figure wore tan colored pants and shoes. It made a shriek as another man jumped up from the bushes; both the men's axes came towards the figure's body…

Swift footsteps were heard coming towards the figure. They leaped over the bushes and landed right between the figure and the men's axes. In those short brief seconds, the figure's world had played before it very slowly. It looked up and saw a young boy around the its same age; he was a Swordsman with bright red hair. His bangs curled outwards on both sides of his face, while thin strands of hair covered his forehead. The figure watched as the boy grabbed it and held it tightly in his arms. Time seemed to resume as the boy shouted,

"GRAND CROSS !!" A great light surrounded them both in the form of a cross. The light consumed the men with the axes and they disintegrated before their eyes. The boy fell on his side, still holding the figure in his strong arms. The both of them lay there for a few moments; the boy looked exhausted. Then, the figure shoved him away and began to cower.

"Are you…alright?" The boy rose, gripping his chest in pain. The sun glistened off something shiny around the boy's right wrist..

"Are….you?" the figure spoke in such a timid voice that made the boy suddenly feel uneasy. The figure gripped the hood around its head and stared down at the ground, still shivering.

"I'm ok. That's what Grand Cross does to ya." he smiled. The figure looked back at the boy, his smile caused it to look away.

"How…did you do that…?"

"I don't know." the boy said. "I've always been able to do that. It's pretty cool…but then again, people tend to avoid me because of it." a brief sadness came over the boy. Then he shook it off and reached over to put his hand on the figure's shoulder. The figure twitched and stepped back before he could touch it.

"I won't hurt you," he said. The figure turned around and ran from the boy. The boy chased after it. "Wait!" he called.

"Please stay away from me!" The figure cried back. "Bad things happen to people who get close to me!"

"Can I at least know your name? And why those Removers were after you!?" the boy yelled, persisting.

The figure stopped running; its pace turned into a speed walk. The boy continued to follow.

"My name is Bastien." the boy said. "You have to listen to me!"

The figure shook its head.

"Those things have been chasing me too. They've been chasing me ever since I found out how to use my Grand Cross!"

The figure stopped in its tracks. Bastien looked down and saw a dim twinkle upon the figure's right wrist.

"You…" he began, looking at the chained bracelet around his wrist. "…you have one too? You have the same bracelet as I do?"

The figure turned to face Bastien. It looked at his wrist, then at its own. Bastien's expression then grew serious.

"You…you have it too, don't you?" he asked, grim. "You know something you're not supposed to know, don't you? You can do something other people can't."

"Shut up!" the figure cried. "Because of my curse…" it cringed. "…because of what I have, nobody can get close to me! Everyone is afraid that I'll hurt them! I can't control it!"

"Curse?" Bastien asked. He watched as the figure grabbed the branch of a nearby tree. In mere seconds, the tree withered and wilted; its leaves fell off its branches and turned into dust. The tree stood bare and naked; dead where it stood. Bastien gasped and stepped back.

The figure fell on its knees and sobbed. Bastien stood looking at the dead tree for a few moments, then down at the figure. He walked closer and extended his hand. The figure stooped and looked up.

"I'm not afraid." he said calmly. He peered into the hood covering its face and saw deep blue eyes with unusual irises that were in a swirling pattern. The figure's eyes met his; pupils that were tinged with a light bluish gray. His irises were almost in the shape of a crown. The figure's fingertips touched Bastien's palm. It pulled away quickly. To its surprise, Bastien stood unharmed. The figure took his hand and Bastien pulled it up on its feet.

"See? You can't hurt me." Bastien smiled. The figure then broke into tears and wrapped its arms around him. It sobbed into his shirt uncontrollably, holding him tightly. Bastien was startled, but only stood still and let it sob. "I wish you would take off that silly thing." he poked at its hood. "I can't even tell who or what you are." It sniffed and pulled away.

"I'm sorry." it said. "I haven't seen another person in so long. I didn't think anyone else could withstand my curse…" its voice trailed off. It placed its hand on its head and removed the hood from its face, revealing beautiful cobalt blue hair that rested upon the shoulders. Long bangs were tucked behind the ears delicately; its feminine hands tied both ends of the hair into two small ponytails. She smiled a soft smile that caused Bastien to blush. She had pale skin the color of white sand. He felt his heart pounding as he continue to stare at her gentle face.

"My name is Kaelana." She said softly. "Kaelana Adversae."


	7. Spoiler Consideration and Story Changes

-1I would like to thank all of you who have said so many nice (and constructional) things about my story! But from now on, I must point out something dearly important:

I hate spoilers. I'm also not good at concealing my own, in many ways lol. But if you want to leave a review, and if you THINK it might have something to do with any storyline "hints", then please, post something like -

"POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING"

-on the top so that everyone won't be like "HOMG!"

For example, if there was a big thing in my story like "HOW DID KAIREL'S HAIR TURN BLUE?" and in your review, you decide to post something like "Well, there is a hair dye NPC in Morroc and Prontera, and you can make dye from blah blah blue herbs and pie blah blah…" Then PLEASE for the sake of those who dislike spoilers and want to give the benefit of the doubt until the very end, post the…

"POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING" on the top of your review.

I'm not bashing anyone, but this was something that was brought to my attention (sort of).

If you happen to come upon a review that may possibly give something away and there is no warning, then I apologize. Just don't say anything and PRETEND IT NEVER HAPPENED.

JUST PRETEND. ERASE IT FROM YOUR MIND.

I should also take this time to make a few changes to my story, or bring things to attention that should repeated:

Kairel's last name is Adversae.

I changed Kumi's age from 12 to 10 when she was found by Mr. and Mrs. Runeshire.

With the above change made, I had to also change how many years ago everything has happened; which is 6. Six years ago, Kumi was adopted with no recollection of her past. Six years ago, Kairel met and lost his sister.

In my story, job changing is a coming-of-age thing. 16 is the minimum age anyone can be before job changing to their first class. After that, the age for the second classes (etc.) doesn't matter.

Transcendence is accomplished by two methods: 1. Someone trains for years and years on end and dedicates their life to improving their body and mind with every ounce of their being. 2. Making the ultimate sacrifice for someone with the purest of intentions. In other words, dying for someone you love with the hopes that the Heavens will have mercy upon you…

Blue Gemstones are used for Warping and Teleporting; not Yellow.

Although my story is BASED upon my experiences in iRO Chaos, much is changed.

Kairel is an idiot.

Thank you for bearing with me. I'll do my best to keep things updated (when I'm not getting my own ass kicked on RO).

NOW KEEP READING OR ELSE. (lol jk)


	8. Sorry For The Delay

Epic fail.

I am so sorry that the next part of Kumi Asura is taking so long to complete. Honestly, I've hit a horrible writer's block and it won't go away D:

I have ideas, but I'm not 100 satisfied with them. I'm tinkering around here and there, but I keep going back on them because the ideas don't seem to stick.

On top of all that, college classes have started and I have a lot of work to do on RO. YES. WORK ON RO. Sounds dumb but it's true.

So…yeah. I'm sorry again for the delay.


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